Does Telling the Truth Matter?

A few things have led me to think that truth and objectivity no longer have the premium they used to. More important seems to be knowing what you want to achieve and putting together a story which helps you to do it. Disturbing for those of us who were brought up fearing the the wrath of God (well mum's tongue actually) if we behaved deviously. Much that goes on today depends on an attitude of 'talking up' what you're doing. That's all very well. But if somebody says "But it's not really like that" and proceeds to demonstrate why, it becomes a challenge to the public relations spin you want to project. Too often the critic is labelled as being 'negative' ( itself a negative comment, but who cares?). Things rapidly deteriorate into subjectivity and emotionalism, brothers and sisters of falsehood.

Take some recent comments in statements and messages from SWT about people who they don't wish to attend their 'public' meetings. It seems OK to say anything that makes a case for what they want to do whether it's true or not and to hell with consequences like defamation. Here is one example:

....it went well beyond what is reasonable behaviour at a privately organised meeting set up with the entirely positive purpose of engaging people voluntarily in influencing the future of part of their local countryside. I understand that two people walked out of the meeting specifically because of the tone, approach and behaviour of the Friends of Blacka Moor...

Now I really like this one. Because three people left the meeting before the end. One because she could not stay anyway and two, at different times having said there was no point in staying because SWT were ******* and were not listening to what they said!! But wait a minute two others did go outside briefly, SWT's 'Reserve Manager' and a close ally from PDNPA who each left the room ( one assumed a call of nature). But wasn't this in fact a carefully staged and wholly synthetic wobbly throwing exercise?

Of course, a set-up! And the sanctimonious tone is splendidly realised!