Sunday 24 July 2011

Decency

"It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office."
H.L. Mencken 
Matthew d'Ancona's op-ed piece in todays Sunday Telegraph (print edition) is headlined as "The hacking scandal exposes Cmeron's essential decency".

Having met David Cameron on a number of occasions, one cannot but like the man; he is indeed the most pleasant company for which one could wish.

It is, in common with most politicians, within the political arena that he unfortunately fails the first two of Mencken's 'tests'.

3 comments:

TomTom said...

Matthew d'Ancona is fatuous. Today, as most days I read all the Web newspapers and it doesn't take long. The same stories, the same 'paid advocacy' articles and the same repetitive themes.

I tire of pieces about Cameron, Osborne, Pippa or Kate & Willie. The stench of manipulation and product-placement has driven me to cancel my TV licence following the Digital Switchoff and a refusal to buy any new equipment.

The constrictive nature of debate and discussion makes free-thinking a rebellion best enjoyed in solitude away from GroupThink. Even Blogs like Cranmer have turned into Facebook with the eponymous blogger no doubt on vacation and leaving it in the hands of the banal and inane.

We do live in a stultifying age of glorified mediocrity

Mike Spilligan said...

Tom Tom: The digital switchover must be a huge opportunity for people to give up the TV drug. I did it 19 years ago and have never regretted it. In 1992 there weren't many options for news, current affairs and political comment; but how different now.
Regain your sanity and save a lot of cash into the bargain.

WitteringsfromWitney said...

TT: Agreed. I gave up paying for a licence fee five years ago and it remains unplugged with aerial disconnected. Got the usual letters and threats, but not had any more for approx 3 years now.

MS: Like you, not missing it at all.