The Real Thing

Occasionally we see pictures of stars with their stand-ins. To the camera they may look remarkably alike, and no doubt they have many qualities in common. But the one is the “real thing” and the other isn’t. Sometimes differences between the real thing and an imitation are obvious and unmistakable, but sometimes the differences are subtle and difficult to detect. And sometimes when we don’t know the difference we don’t care. But as long as there is any difference, when we pay for the “real thing” and get something else, we have cause for complaint. And this is true whether we know it or not. Perhaps this is the cue for someone to say, “What difference does it make if we don’t know the difference?” One answer is that some day we will know the difference. Truth doesn’t change because of our ignorance or indifference, and somewhere along the line we have to face facts. A man may enjoy a ride down the river if he doesn’t know that he’s riding too close to the rapids. But the fact that he is ignorant of the danger doesn’t keep him from drowning when the current carries him under. The happiness of ignorance is a dangerous kind of happiness. When we don’t know, we live in danger of learning too late. Let’s look for example at the matter of money: Money that is limitlessly printed on a press looks just as good as any other money. But individuals and institutions have been wiped out financially because they forgot the difference between the real thing and something that didn’t have any substance to secure it. There are some actual and intrinsic values that are important whether we know them or not, and there are times when it isn’t safe to accept the appearance in place of the actual article. The “real thing” is important in things and it is important in people. The genuine and the shoddy may look alike in many ways, but innate qualities of character show up sooner or later. It isn’t enough just to look like the real thing. The substance must be there as well as the surface. There must be sound, sure, safe standards; there must be principles from which we do not depart—or there wouldn’t be anything that anyone could count on.