The following came to me as an email, and I laughed heartily as I imagined the reactions of passersby viewing the display. Of course, I want to share the fun — but with a thought: How many times you look at something and take it at face value, reacting to what’s presented without observing more carefully, investigating more fully, delving deeper than the surface?
As a culture, we’re programmed to accept what we see, read, and hear at face value, especially when it comes to media and advertising. We react as programmed, yet when it comes to the media, how many step back to consider their initial reaction might have been manipulated?
The creator of this display wrote:
Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after two days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.
First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.
Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn’t realize that it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of the many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn’t take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard.
I don’t know the original source of the email: If you know the person who created this, I’d love to be able to send them a thank-you note directly.
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