Impressions

My mother and I were watching an interview on the Turner Classic Movie channel this last Saturday evening. It was an interview between the host Robert Osborn and actor Ernest Borgnine on his life and acting career. It was quite fascinating. My mother had seen a great number of his movies over the many years that he has been acting, as have I. Often, his character in many of his movies were that of a hard-mannered man facing difficulties. Though he also played men with an enormous amount of character and even humor, my mother’s impression of him was that he must be similar to the bulk of the characters he portrayed in the movies. She was quite amazed while watching the interview, that he was quite the opposite. He never criticized people or spoke negatively of anyone, instead, focused on the positive. If there was anything contrary, he only would cite situations as possibly being problematic. It was very interesting, and my mother came away from watching this interview with a whole new impression of a very talented and kind man.

How often do we believe something based on one dimension? People we see on the screen or even in our own community are often judged by what we perceive without seeing the whole person. Often, we don’t have all the information, but make assumptions based on incomplete information. I am just as guilty of jumping to conclusions, believing that I have what I need to make an informed decision. Yet, all too often, that judgment or viewpoint is based more on emotion than good sense. Alas, I need more improvement.