Tuesday 9 February 2010

How to achieve equality - in nine thousand easy lessons

Lesson 6b - Try not to be economical with the truth

It is impossible to achieve equality unless you are impeccably honest and view facts objectively. If you allow religious or political inclinations to influence your judgment then you might end up seeing inequality where none exists and overlooking equality where it does exist. How is it possible to guarantee equality, if your application of the truth is unequal?

Consider this scenario: Harriet criticises David's Party because last year David and his colleagues voted against a bill designed to make MPs more honest. However she does not mention that John and Margaret, who belong to her own party also voted against it. What she is trying to do is make David's party look bad, without her own party also looking bad.

This is what some in Whitehall call being 'economical with the truth'. Harriet has given an account of events that is incomplete. And by doing so, she has in effect generated another form of inequality. This is because it is still generally accepted in Britain (at least for the time being) that truth is not something that you can bestow on some and withhold from others - just because it suits your beliefs or prejudices. It must be applied equally. Otherwise what you in effect end up with is something that people like Harriet often like to call 'discrimination'.

17 comments:

  1. Well I for one am very discriminating. I hate the Tories

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  2. I believe in equality man. Or do I mean meritocracy?

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  3. I think equalatty's amazing, actuerlly. I'm as good as any man and look what i acheeved.Three cheerrs for Harriet Harmann. She even has the word man in her name.

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  4. Its marvvellus that theres no aristrocacy any more. Its much betta to look up to people with no edacashun who got to where they did becuzz they was talented. Look at wot it dunn for our counttry. People like me are roll modles.

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  5. Its amazing, I got a degree thanks to equality

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  6. Truth is like freedom. It should be rationed. Keep up the good work Harriet.

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  7. Anyone can get to be a VIP nowadays. But I hope they wont all get to be, because it'll get a bit crowded in there.

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  8. All MPs are equal, but ours are more equal than theirs

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  9. I am sure Gordon would agree that I am equal to him in the government

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  10. Harriet's popularity rating is equal to mine

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  11. Harriet is equell to me but not if your talkin about bust size

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  12. Harriet Harm-Men9 February 2010 at 14:08

    I think that making fun of thick women is very cruel and sexist. They might be useless and obsessed with cup size but they are still human

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  13. What an arrogant post. What gives you the right to pronounce like that on equality. Prig!

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  14. That's right, only Hatty Harperson is allowed to pronounce on the subject of truth

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  15. Archbishop Canterbury9 February 2010 at 19:21

    The Christian message is to understand those with different beliefs than your own and not to smite them. Although sometimes you have not choice.

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  16. Will people stop confusing me with Alexander Pope?

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  17. Rowan Williams (Archbishop)9 February 2010 at 20:41

    We must of course treat men and women equally, and we must also respect the wishes of those in the Church who do not wish to treat men and women equally.
    I trust that this clarifies matters.

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