Genuine: adjective, Latin origin (genuinus – innate, akin to); free from hypocrisy or pretense, sincere.
Context is everything for this word, especially for the justice or injustice done by claiming genuine characteristics. It can be defensive, qualifying, possibly leading to a disregard for and disbelief in its object. Describing an object as “genuine” can actually hurt its reputation. Perhaps the most common use we are familiar with falls under this categorization.
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“Made from genuine imported leather…” echoes in your head from the infomercials that cycles through television channels in the early morning hours. It leaves a sour taste in our mouths and tarnishes the reputability of the word.
Usually we associate such a product as lesser quality, and needing to assert its quality because the manufacturer isn’t well known or doesn’t have a respectable reputation. It needs to be accredited, vouched for, and so we’re told by the spokesperson that the product is “genuine.” It’s a plea to end our well-known skepticism of the quality and product itself.
And yet, I have the highest regard for someone with whom I can endow the characteristic genuine. A person can be honest, but being genuine can reflect the intention of the person, the reason for acting in the manner they did. Being honest is all too often limited to words and verbal interaction. It’s simple to define if someone is honest or not: you look for facts to disprove them, for blatant and intentional faults. Discrediting someone's genuine characteristic would require exposing their innermost thoughts. To be genuine is to be oneself, and that is the greatest quality we can hope for in a person.
Its impact is greater than that of sincerity and openness. It leads to actions, and as we all know, actions speak louder than words. It leads to ingenuity – a trait that has endless opportunities to be used and, by nature, finds solutions to seemingly inescapable or incorrigible problems. In a time of global warming and vulnerable humanity, a little ingenuity could be our saving grace. It could salvage the years of disregard for others and for our planet because it calls for action. Genuine feelings strengthen beliefs to push motivation to the next level. Just as morals are the foundation of ethics, so genuineness is the propellant for standing with ones true self.
Genuine: genus (Latin), from which we have used the term to define from which genus a being belongs.
The feelings and thoughts genuine to oneself are inescapable, natural, rooted in the wiring of a person. They are each person’s composition and foundation. Revealing those genuine characteristics is like opening up the door to who you are, and it’s the best way to the best “you” there is.
If a person is genuine with me, I can learn to appreciate that person, for good or bad. We may not become friends – and it is not necessary that such a relationship forms – but we very well will not waste each other’s energies and time. We won’t cause unprovoked harm. We won’t deceive each other. We will respect one another. And that is all one can ask for – respect; genuine respect.
