News Propoganda

It worries me more than just a little that months after the event, having absorbed all the various media reports on an event and having formed a considered opinion about the course and substance of those events from the media reports, drip by drip a more truthful account appears. All the warty misjudgements come to light, changing entirely the summation of cause and justification. Need for secrecy or National interest or delicate negotiations could be derailed, or some such are rolled out as justification as to why the public should be mislead, misinformed at the time.

By my reckoning, to set out to mislead, misdirect, to encourage a false assumption to be arrived at, is tantamount to lying. I know by the strict definition it is not a lie. But to set out to leave a person with a wrong impression and not to take steps to limit or correct that false impression, an impression that you are fully aware will be formed from the limited and coached words you have used to convey the information, is a lie. What can be worse for a country than to be routinely lied to by their leaders? Nothing destroys trust or being prepared to over look an occasional transgression faster and more completely, than being lied to.

We are told that it is an essential and inescapable facet of modern life. Inorder to complete complicated and delicate negotiations and to arrive at a solutions which best benefits out Nation it is unavoidable. The Nation cannot be told the whole truth at the time, it might costs lives, we might lose an important deal, our competitors will gain a commercial advantage, our enemy will be forewarned as to our moves and have time to thwart them or any number of other very persuasive and compelling reasons. Except we are left with this sour taste in our mouths, we are being lied to by our leaders.

In a wheely dealy commercial world, getting one over your adversary, is the name of the game, it kind of makes sense and certainly has become the daily yardstick of judgement. Except this is not how I want to be ranked, I really do not want the esteem I am held in to be based on how clever I have been to outsmart, out bluff, out perform in some brinkmanship game, how I managed to beat a weaker opponent down by a couple of points. These are not the principles of my life and certainly not for the country I want to stand proud of and promote.

There really is an alternative manner to conduct our everyday lives. It harks back to the old professional qualities we, as English, used to be world renowned for. Honesty, integrity, men of their word who would rather stand by their word than break it just make a deal or win a profit. Being prepared to set aside robust codes of conduct for a short-term goal can only have one conclusion. Sacrificing decency inorder curry favour with an evil dictator so to bolster your position against a mutual 'enemy' can only have one inevitable conclusion. The evil dictator will only gain strength from your support and in the end you will be mired and what is even worse, your own standards will become corrupted, by association. The short-terms gains are never worth it. A sales deal stolen at the last minute from a competitor, by nefarious, means will not win long term support or loyalty of your customer, that in the long-term you need to survive. Better by far to win a contract straight on quality, delivery and service even if you 'lose' out to competitors who are prepared to cut more corners than just a discount price. In a dog eat dog world, we should all learn to eat dog? No of course not, better to live a poorer life but proud of your standards than to root in the gutter. Not a universally supported position but without doubt the only position that has any long-term prospect for trust and growth.

So lets start here and now, no more lying, no more concealing to the public on any issue by our political leaders. Tell the public and the rest of the world exactly how it is. Accept that we might lose ground to rival Nations in the short-term but our stature in the longer lasting term will be so much greater and at least we will be able to live with each other in trust and respect.