I recently came across this quote from Boris Pasternak, the Nobel Prize winner and author of Doctor Zhivago. "Men in power are so eager to establish the myth of infallibility that they do their upmost to ignore truth."
I was reminded of that quote when I was watching the TV news coverage of Boris Johnson getting his long overdue comeuppance. Someone from a Tory think tank (I can't remember his name; they all look and sound the same) tried to make excuses for Johnson by saying that he tells lies because he finds the truth boring!
I am sure that there are times in all of our lives when we find the truth a bit boring or maybe just a little bit inconvenient. But that is absolutely no excuse for ignoring the truth and is certainly no justification for persistent lying.
Boris Johnson seems to have consistently lied throughout his career, but until now he has always managed somehow to get away with it. His lie that leaving the EU would free up an additional £350m per week for the NHS was a major factor in securing a Yes vote in the Brexit referendum.
The most blatant attempt to justify political lies came in the early days of the Trump presidency when White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said that they were merely presenting "alternative facts." It would have been funny if it hadn't been so serious.
Of course Johnson is not the only Prime Minister to have told big lies. We should never forget the lies told by Tony Blair and his cronies in the run up to the Iraq War. Many British troops, US troops and Iraqi civilians lost their lives because of a war which was based on a lie. Bush and Blair told the world that Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction; he didn't.
It would be nice to think that there are at least some politicians of integrity out there, men and women who are not afraid to confront the electorate with the truth. Now would be a very good time for them to come forward.
I rarely quote Scripture in these blog posts, but it seems appropriate to end with these words from John's Gospel, "The Truth Shall Set You Free." We would all do well to remember that.
Take Care.
Ends
No comments:
Post a Comment