Being a person who respects truth is about a great deal more than avoiding the telling of lies.
Being a person who respects truth is about a great deal more than avoiding the telling of lies. It may mean acknowledging and regretting you have told a partial truth or that you have avoided taking responsibility for an error of judgement.
Politicians – whether they be MPs or candidates – often do not do well in this regard and Twitter is sometimes the unflattering mirror held up to their conceit and immaturity.
This week, two tweets have stood out for me. One was from a candidate who, upbraided by a tweeter who disliked his “cheap shots” taken at another candidate during a hustings, replied, “You’re right. I regretted it as soon as I said it.” The other was from a candidate in the same constituency who tweeted a year-old claim that “75 per cent of our laws are made by European institutions”. This had been thoroughly fact checked at the time of its original utterance and found to be incorrect. I sent the link to the candidate concerned and asked, if in the interests of balance, she would re-tweet it. That she did not will come as no surprise.
Words spoken in the heat of the moment, the desire to seek advantage or score points, the readiness with which confirmation bias may get the better of discernment – who among us will not, at some time, have fallen into these flawed behaviours? Recognition of the flaw and the humility to admit it is a marker of integrity and an encouragement to trust.
As the days are counted down to the general election, there will be more than enough instances of saving face being placed before acting with respect for truth in its fullest sense. The long question which we need to ask of our politicians’ choices and statements must pivot on this failing. If we address it in our own lives, we will have the right to ask it of those who want our votes. It could just give us a healthier politics.
* More on the issues in the 2015 General Election from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/generalelection2015
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© Jill Segger is an Associate Director of Ekklesia with particular involvement in editorial issues. She is a freelance writer who contributes to the Church Times, Catholic Herald, Tribune, Reform and The Friend, among other publications. Jill is an active Quaker. See: http://www.journalistdirectory.com/journalist/TQig/Jill-Segger You can follow Jill on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/quakerpen