Let’s do this well together!
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7
So many journalists and the people they interview on television are now working from home, that we are getting a little glimpse into their private spaces. I wonder if, like me, you find your eye drawn to their surroundings, the pictures on the wall and the books on the shelves. It’s as if we are getting to see a little of their real lives, their taste in decor, their reading choices, their taste in art………or lack of it!
Some are interviewed with a background of impressive bookcases stuffed with erudite titles. That’s a popular choice for politicians, no doubt very aware of the image they want to present to potential voters. The bookcases say ‘serious minded’, ‘well informed’, ‘diligent’. Some people have walls lined with photographs obviously of family, or art work, which gives a warmer and more intimate feeling as if we are really looking into their private lives.
Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, was interviewed this morning and was sitting at a fairly functional looking desk like the kind you would find in any home study, with a background of moderately untidy shelves with books, papers and general office paraphernalia, which made me think that this was a real working environment and not a set piece to impress the audience. He was neat in a formal suit jacket, shirt and tie, but when pressed by the interviewer about what wasn’t visible below the desk, he confessed he was wearing jeans!
That had me wondering where I would position myself if ever I was interviewed for television at home. What image would I hope to project? If it was to be beside a bookcase, would I rearrange the books to make sure the titles showing gave out a certain image…. weighty tomes with serious titles and classic literature with the odd Mann Booker prizewinner thrown in for good measure? ( I am actually reading the latest Hilary Mantel novel in her trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell, ‘The Mirror and the Light “ which has to be a hot tip for this year’s Booker prize, since she has won it twice before with the two earlier volumes.) We too easily make judgements about someone by the objects they have around them, and every one of us can be tempted to present our best selves for public scrutiny, when the reality which is hidden from view can be very different.