I expect that, like me, most readers were brought up to place a huge value on ‘truth.
We might even cherish truth because it makes life simpler than if we have to dissect spoken sentences to ensure that what we are hearing or reading is free of ambiguity.
When I was young I listened to what people said and believed them. I did so because I knew the meaning of the words they used and so thought that the understanding of that word in their minds was the same as it was in mine. Call me naive if you like, but I thought that words were a very effective (and efficient) method of communication. I.e. if you used words I understood I could understand what was in your mind. Simple!
But now I realise that my mind was just too simple. Some people do not always use words to make things clear, but to give themselves wriggle room without actually telling lies. To these people not telling a lie is more important than telling the truth. This behaviour reminds me of the lawyer from Arkansas with a wife and 12 children who desperately needed to move home when his rental agreement was terminated.
He had great difficulty because potential renters believe that lots of children will destroy their property. As we all know lawyers cannot lie, and so couldn’t say he had no children.
After much thought he sent his wife for a walk to the cemetery with 11 of their children, but took the youngest daughter with him to see the real estate agent.
He loved one of the homes and the price was right – but the agent asked: “How many children do you have?” and he answered, “Twelve.” The agent then enquired as to where the others were. Putting on his sad courtroom face he answered, “They’re all in the cemetery with their mother.
“He got the house! The moral of the story is that it’s not necessary to lie but to choose the right words.
Are you surprised that most politicians are lawyers?
When I reach old age (sic) I will try to remember that a phrase such as X means X has no face-value meaning whatsoever. Another phrase much in vogue, is Social Justice, but there will be a disconnect about its’ meaning between those politicians who speak it and those who hear it. What I find difficult to take however, is that the politician also knows about the disconnect but goes ahead anyway. In short, he or she is not actually lying, but is deceiving us just the same.
Deception is however not the name of the game in the case of the many song birds which have disappeared from our garden and land in recent years. Tree Creepers, Gold Finches, Linnets, Skylarks, Siskins, Green Finches, Wrens, Starlings and some Thrushes. Moreover there has been huge increase in Pigeons, Raptors, Corvids, and Squirrels. When presented with these observations many people shrug and dismissively say, ‘farming practices’. But I have not myself noticed any significant change in local farming practices in the past thirty years. Except possibly hedges are being cut lower and more houses appearing. I suspect the reason for disappearance of song birds is due more due to the public’s focus on the bigger birds to the detriment of the smaller ones.
The recent spell of hot weather has once again raised the question of water supplies in the south east of England and one wonders why, instead spending zillions getting to Birmingham 20 minutes quicker by HS2, the folks of the south east don’t spend the money on reservoirs, and houses whose storm drains go directly into the underground aquifers for natural storage, rather than straight back to sea via the rivers and sewerage system.
My wife enjoys the annual Royal Welsh Show where she gives me a few hours to wander up and down the machinery aisles. Most of the kit it is too big for our small farming operation but I do learn a lot about large scale farming, and over the years have made a few purchases that have made life easier for us both. I guess that a wise choice of equipment makes it possibly to carry on doing jobs around the holding that would otherwise be too difficult for an aging body. Nowadays, when I do spend money I always grateful that my wife didn’t throw me out when, shortly after we were married, I said to her that, “My job is to bring the money in, and your job is to stop it going out.” I am happy to say that over the years she has fulfilled her stewardship role wonderfully well, and so life for us today is a little easier than it might have been.
Talking of marriage reminds me of the hymns often used at weddings. One organist, Graham Carton from Lincoln keeps notes of what he has played, and remembers with affection two printed programmes containing the tunes:-
Wagner’s, Bridle March …… and Brother James’s Heir.
View from the Pew 