Apperance vs. Substance

Do you care more about appearances than substance?

This is a choice that’s made everyday by most of us and it runs the gamut from picking fruit to choosing a soul mate. I have found that if you make a selection strictly on the appearance criteria many times you will not be satisfied.

We are constantly bombarded with messages that target appearance over substance. Human resource specialists that are in the business of hiring people tend to make their hiring decisions on appearance only. So, we are told to “put our best foot forward” or “make ourselves presentable;” we have to market ourselves. We might not have all the necessary skills but if we look good we will stand a chance of getting hired.

Look at what happened to the New England Patriot’s offensive coordinator. Charlie Weiss, because of his appearance (being overweight) was continuously bypassed in his attempts to become a head coach. He became so desperate that he opted to undergo a very dangerous surgery that almost cost him his life. I’m glad for him that Notre Dame University chose him to head their football program for the next ten years. This man of tremendous substance was constantly passed over because of appearance.

The saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” has been turned around to where choices are being made strictly by looking at the cover without ever looking at the table of contents. Speaking about books, walk into any large bookstore and see which books attract you; which books are you tempted to pick up to look at? I bet most will be tempted by the attractive covers.

Look at what’s happened with haute cuisine. It seems that the way a dish is presented is more important than the substance. I want a chef to cook for me not to give me an artistic presentation. I can get my fill of art at the museum, thank you. And I don’t want to spend twice the amount because of the artistic presentation. Don’t try to elevate the peasant dish of pasta e fasul (pasta and beans) into something that it’s not by masking it with different colored leaves and herbs that are frankly non edible.

Some categorize appearance and substance as two different philosophies, sort of a starting point in life when one comes to the fork in the road. The people who choose the road named appearance believe that it’s important how you appear and not what you are. Conversely, the ones who choose the road marked substance believe in what they are and not in what they appear to be.

The first philosophy leads into a personality of sham, deceit and superficiality, while the second leads into a personality of honesty, sincerity and substance. If you choose a friend hopefully you’ll choose one that subscribes to the second philosophy. There’s an old Italian saying that goes something like this; “A true friend is one that’s not afraid to point out that your nose is dirty.” This is probably my variation on the actual saying but in any case it should point out that a friend will not make you look bad.

Appearance versus substance is the subject of an old song from the Doo Wop era. The lyrics (If you want to be happy for the rest of your life never make a pretty woman your wife), although somewhat comical, when you come right down to it makes sense. We get back to the saying, “Beauty is only skin deep.” It’s not what’s on the outside but what’s on the inside. Unfortunately society has become obsessed with appearance. Come out with a new fangled diet and you could make millions. People will go to any extreme to look like something that’s impossible to attain.

Appearance has become a deciding factor on choosing our elected officials. Would Abe Lincoln get elected today? Too much value and worth has been given to appearance. The scales of appearance and substance are heavily weighted on the appearance side. We’ve lost the proper balance and it’s hurting us more than we realize.