Seeing what you want to see

The reaction to Chris Trotter’s  The Incredible Lightness of Being John Key is a telling illustration of how we see what we want to see.

Those of us on the right, like Kiwiblog, saw the positives while on the left people who’ve responded with comments and Deborah’s post at In A Strangeland  show the negatives.

Like most of Chris’s works, it’s a masterful piece of writing which can be read in many ways. The reaction shows that most of us who are politically aligned tend to have our prejudices confirmed in what we see, hear and experience.

That is why the political centre is so crowded.

That’s where most of the swinging voters are. Gaining their support is less difficult than trying to change the minds of people whose allegiance is confirmed or those whose views tend more towards the outer reaches of the political spectrum.