Don't be misled by 'self-assigned labels' from candidates

Then comes the added plot twists when supporting cast members, in their roles as coworkers and higher-ups, dare to brand these heroes as "renegades" and "rogues." As an adoring audience we like these labels when our heroes belittle bosses and resent rules viewed to just be stupid policies and petty protocols.

Movie and TV creators broadened this type of entertainment with characters acting out similar scripts with provocative plots.

Army Capt. "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda in "MASH") joins the top of my list of righteous renegades and rogues. He is a super surgeon saving soldiers under the barrage of bombs and bullets. Even his most critical critics, Majors Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) and Frank Burns (Larry Linville) begrudgingly added their admiration of Hawkeye; yet they went about their asinine attempts to impose Army regulations and military discipline on him. Oh, how we the audience cheered how the two majors only managed minor distractions.

Oscar Wilde, playwright and novelist, observed: “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”

As such, is it any surprise the 40th and 45th (and 47th) presidents entered politics soon after exiting entertainment? From this is it any surprise that what we like about make-believe renegade detectives and rogue doctors is what we prefer in real-life non-political politicians so that they will achieve "what nobody has ever seen before"?

But I hear a cartoon dog (Scooby-Doo) saying “Ruh Roh” and a legendary inspector (Sherlock Holmes) saying “A game is afoot.”

You might have encountered at your workplace (or school, etc.) a person who sees himself or herself as a Harry C., a Danny R. or a Hawkeye P. Unfortunately, their self-assigned supreme skills and admirable abilities are just that, self-assigned … yet far from fact. The open question becomes do these folks adversely affect what they do if their expertise is lacking in what is expected.

Which takes us to our leaders and lawmakers that have immense influence and impact on our daily doings.

No doubt a candidate must campaign on his/her strengths and successes, although it can be exhausting to see how often exaggerations excite voters.

When excessive bragging is needed to beget ballots, is there cause for concern, such as when we hear a self-assigned "Stable Genius" offering hyperbolic claims of “only I can fix it” and “aced cognitive tests.” Then we see our Constitution shoved aside and majority opinion overlooked.

How can we avoid being misled by self-assigned labels and hyperbolic claims?

Jack Jerald

Prince Frederick