All the World is a lie

Should I be the cause of a car accident I am required to lie and not admit to being the cause of the accident otherwise my car insurance will be repudiated. I know I caused the accident but cannot say so. The injured party/ies may protest and may clearly elucidate the sequence of events but I am not allowed to agree with them. Obviously I understand that in all the pent up emotions at that moment of an accident my perspective on the events may be distorted. Clearly unscrupulous 'victims' may seek to take advantage of that vulnerability and push events to demonstrate their 'innocence' to their insurance companies advantage. So yes there are grey areas  and we need to be on guard against free admissions where there might be elements of doubt. But not to the point of requiring me to institutionally lie against the plain evidence. When the sequence of events, the facts of the case, are clear to all and witnesses, when does a no comment become a lie. It is a lie if you know the true cause but choose, or are required, not to admit it.

We see time after time, exemplary investigations into corporate failings of one ilk or another, be it meat not as described, irresponsible lending to clearly insolvent clients, to plain manufacturing defects or flawed materials or staff failing to provide the level of care required, and the institution at the centre, twist and turns, shifts focus, counter claims against another party, anything other than admit they failed to act in a timely fashion. In this litigious world we now live in any slight admission will be the staring pistol for a host of damage claims, real, exaggerated to the pure fanciful. All of which would have to be defended at considerable cost even should not guilty as charged be the final outcome. Any admission, no matter how slight, inflames the counter case, hinders the assembly of a not guilty argument. No wonder companies are loath to admit. The end result, the victims, those who suffered as a consequence of bad decision made by others, are left without restitution, with the stigma of blame left in their laps, unable to overcome the mountainous costs of initiating actions against well-heeled corporates. Corporates who can afford to weather the storm of claims, knowing few can succeed against them and that time with eventually erase any suspicion's, so long as they do not concede to any failings. Despite all the clear unambiguous contrary evidence. Dissemble, misdirect, be economical with the truth, even bare faced lie rather than agree to the truth. Company policy.

Our elected representatives, appointed to promote our well-being are now schooled in the craft of avoiding answering direct questions. Anything that might give rise to concerns, or might put in doubt past decisions, that may give an opponent a free scoring point, might upset an important voting or funding cadre, anything that does not have a positive upbeat outturn is to be side-stepped. Far better to answer your own question you are comfortable in answering than answer the actual question posed that might lead you into troubled waters. Of course the baying pack of hyena media is there snapping at your heels just waiting for that  gaff. Any gaff, ill at ease posture or unfortunate turn of phrase, waiting to maximise and ridicule to their waiting audience. Never admit to any mistake, no matter how small as it will be turned into defacto incompetence of government, leadership, policy flaw, loss of voter confidence, anything that may help mud stick. When you speak as an MP the credulity of your party is on the line, so keep to safe issues which will have a favourable reception. Never mind what you actually think, did or did not do. Keeping voters loyal is far more important than esoteric concerns such as honesty or truth.

Our past choices make the Society we now live in. Nothing is immutable, we can change what we have chosen, we can choose to go in different directions from now on. Language is so clear, yet so fickle. The words I speak, or write, will resonate differently to each one of you. You will each form your own unique interpretation of my words. The words are the same, but being unique individuals with our past we bring our own different levels in meaning, experience and judgements to the self same words. What each of us does have to do is seek to choose those words which are as close to the truth, the essence, of what you want to say as you can. The more serious the subject area the more rigorous we have to be. We cannot afford the dashed off but instantly regretted Text or EMail. The recipients reaction to a careless choice of phrase cannot be brushed aside with an oophs, the damage can be lasting, tainting the relationship well into the future. We owe it to each other to be as truthful as we possibly can with each other. I don't buy the white lie, (see also my It is not important) the truth will out, eventually, meanwhile you live in a sham, concealing, obscuring your true thoughts, (see also News Propaganda). No one will ever know? Do you believe that you too are so inept at reading people that you could be fooled?

We live in a matrix society, having to deal with a wide range of peoples from all sort of alien, to us, backgrounds. If you can no longer trust anyone to speak the truth, to be honest, just how are you going to negotiate your way in this Society? Truth is the core trust that binds our Society together. Trust in the truth is what empowers us to make contracts with all those strangers we daily encounter. The next time you witness a Politician, a Company Executive evading giving a direct answer or you are required to agree to lie, pause and ask yourself, "Is this the Society I want to live in?"  
Answer truthfully.

It is not important

Just heard the Ad for a mature cheese, a new light version, where the slogan hook was 'No compromise'! A mature cheese is made mature so it has a bite and tang to it. That is the whole point of it being mature. So what it is only an advert. But is not, it a verbal role model for a new generation of children being taught, double speak, concealing truths is ok, even cool. This is how the dudes hang out. It is not okay. The hardest thing in all life is to keep close to the truth.

White lies are brushed off as necessary oiling of the social wheels. The suggestion that any lie demeans our society is shouted down. We need white lies is the chorus reply. No we don't, we need truth. Not in your full on face truth. Time and tact play important parts. Better to defer, to miss the point, to talk obliquely in another direction than the empty meaningless white lies, you are beautiful, you are a princess, you are looking so much better, you are so kind. The answer is not to square up and give full barrel critique, you are so childish, grow up and face the reality of your mean spirited life. But not lies, the audience knows the reality, pretending we live in some other mythical place, destroys the bonds between us. Our eternal search for truth.

When the pinnacles of our societies role models openly display a contempt for truth, from our Prince to our Police to our Politicians, society is in deep trouble. The Prince can publicly declare to the world his wedding vows whilst having a mistress at one and the same time off camera. The Police and Politicians can deny impropriety or worse refuse to answer as it might incriminate them, junketing with the Press and benefiting of Press freebies their salary and position gives them no entitlement too. Too eager to drink from the trough of corruption and too enthralled to notice truths lack.

Truth is not an optional extra. Trust is at the root of truth. Can I trust you, can I trust what you say, can I trust that you will be there to help when help is needed. This is the base cement that keeps us in a social bind. Of course we expect to be lied to, to be let down and for some people to pretend to be other than they are. But not the important people. Not the people close to us, the people we care about and most of all the people that have a duty to look after us. From them we expect the highest standards. Our social leaders used to have just a reputation for integrity, principle and honesty. The rot of misrepresentation, of double speak and standards, of weasely words disowning any sensible construction or over-hyped claims way beyond any realisable property, all these are now our common daily grist. The truth flew the nest a long time ago. How now trust? Who do you turn to that you can trust to mean what they say and do what they say they will do.

You are all on your own in a very cynical deliberately misleading world.