So here's the truth about what's happening to Donald Trump.
The president is not really sick. He is very sick. He is pretending. He is not pretending. That was his body double in the car. He may die. The illness is a fake to win Christian sympathy.
Or perhaps I should have said "truths". That paragraph was taken from an article by Simon Jenkins in the Guardian today. Jenkins goes on to say that "We are in a maelstrom of information, spin and lies. No wonder there are
six explanations for every apparently simple development." You want to undermine the seriousness of Covid? Easy. You'll find a credible enough facebook or other media thread out there already. Just join in.
Jenkins goes on to argue:
"No holder of liberal values – however defined – can defend the cruel
anarchy of the web. We have been taken back to the time of the Salem
witches, when an anonymous lie pinned to a church door was known to a
whole village in minutes."
He argues that the barrage of unregulated platforms for expressing opinions, facts, "news" has deeply undermined our trust in the media. Any lie can be put out there and within seconds there are a vast array of "likes" and opinions expressed in support of the supposed fact. He ends his piece by quoting Mark Twain.
"A lie is halfway round the world when truth is still putting on its boots."
Truth has become the plaything and the servant of what I feel, what I am comfortable with, what I like and what I don't like, what I suspect and what I resent. The poor politicians who have to dish out stuff around the Covid reality are caught between many devils and many deep blue seas. Rules designed to protect become straightjackets which stress us and shouldn't be adhered to. Balancing acts between protecting the economy and the general public become evidence of indecision and dithering, inconsistancy and lack of clear guidance. In a constantly changing landscape people want black and white consistancy? Dream on.
What is needed is trust. But in this regard the politicians have not done themselves many favours. From waffling buffooning Boris to sleekit lying Dom, and quite a few idiots and heidbangers in between and of most political persuasions, who could blame the public for feeling suspicious? If that weren't enough there is the issue of accountabilty. It seems to be the preserve of the few. Nicola Sturgeon held the line over her SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, putting her way ahead of Boris. But will Nicola be able to keep true and accountable through the Alec Salmond charade?
Truth, trust, what's the other T? O yes, transparency. The three t's are joined at the hip though. One alone won't sort the other, and I pity the politician who attempts transparency when the situation is utterly complex. Take Covid. Economics, public health, the NHS, Care Homes, education, conflicting or at best diverging medical and scientific opinions, surges and spikes, the only tranparency that would be honest would be "help!", or, "I'm sorry I haven't a clue."
The fix if there is ever to be one, will be a long slow journey through the storms of misinformation, past the reefs of conspiracy and discontent, testing the waters of humility, collaboration, decency and integrity. God, or your higher power, help us.
