Traffic has Changed ...

SatNav tells me, “Traffic has changed; there is a faster route.”  This even happens in the middle of the night, when I’m quite sure there is no traffic problem on my route.  Over time, I’ve realised that this is a polite euphemism, and the real meaning is something like, “I’ve spotted that you weren’t going my way; I’ve realised which way you might be going; would you like me to tell you how long it’ll take you to get there your way?”  You might call it spin, or a sub-text.  There’s a lot of it around these days.

How do you feel when you realise that there’s a sub-text to what someone is telling you?  Are you annoyed at an attempt to deceive?  Do you simply accept that they are trying to claim undue credit? Or do you, like me, feel a smug satisfaction that you’ve understood what is really going on?

The media seems to deliver a lot of spin these days; famously, much of it comes from politicians.  Take, for example, public expressions of condolence for the victims of tragedy, such as the reading of the latest casualty list from Afghanistan at Prime Minister’s Questions.  I confess to a cynical appraisal of this, wondering just how sincere are the feelings being expressed.  Then there’s the political guest who rudely ignores an interviewer’s question, blindly ploughing on instead with his own policy statement?  It’s as if their acceptance of an invitation to be interviewed is simply viewed as an opportunity to put their message across.

Fundamentalism may be unpopular but, put bluntly, aren’t all these simply bald untruths?  If something is said insincerely, or with an ulterior motive, how different is it from telling lies?  Do these people – politicians or not, for many players in the modern world adopt the same strategies – really think that Mr & Mrs Public are fooled?  If we’re not fooled, but accept this as normal, just an accepted part of daily life, doesn’t that make us accessories?

As in a recent blog, I turn to the Book of Common Prayer for support, this time to the services of Morning and Evening Prayer.  In the introduction to the general confession, we are encouraged, that ‘we should not dissemble nor cloke [our sins] before the face of Almighty God’.  These are old words that are no longer in common use, of course, but the meaning is clear.  ‘Cloke’ is simply an early form of the word ‘cloak’, with the meaning to hide away; as to dissemble, my dictionary comes straight to the point and defines it as ‘to conceal one’s motives, talk or act hypocritically; to disguise or conceal.’

And to go right back to basics, the Ninth Commandment says, 'you shall not give false testimony' (Ex.20:16.)  Whether it's SatNav, politicians, or other prominent personalities ... or even ourselves ... let's join together to comdemn all forms of false testimony that we encounter in the coming month, and see what happens!