THE Truth? So 2020

“The truth is always the strongest argument” - Sophocles. What quaint pre-millenial tosh. Sophocles. What did he know? Moron. Welcome to the age of post- truth and relative honesty. THE truth? So last year. Why bother with such trifling nuance when your truth– his, hers, theirs (ahem)– is really so much more interesting, relevant and of course undisputed.  There was an interview the other day. Maybe you saw it? Maybe not? Between two professional compassion spreaders (it’s a thing. And not to be consfused with ‘super spreaders’) and billionaire media mogul. I say ‘interview,’ more like a chummy fireside confessional – minus the fire. (I’ve had colonoscopies more probing. All clear, thank you.)

In one clip we hear Oprah (billionaire mogul for clarity) query Ms. Markle (Chief Executive Compassion spreader, for clarity), how it felt speaking  ‘(her) truth?’.  She replied with her signature word salad, something about being silenced, voices and ‘falsehoods’. (Ah ha. Interesting. But whose falsehood? Tricky one, that.) But cut to the chase, how did it feel? Bloody BRILLIANT, one suspects.  I mean what’s not to love? No challenge, no counter-claim, no rebuttle and most gloriously, no accountability. It’s her truth, you see. Contest it at your peril. Just ask Piers Morgan. Same goes with your truth, or my truth, and these days there’s a lot of ‘truth’ being shared, irrespective of any grounding in reality; mainly on Twitter and all-female panel chat shows.

As regards the ‘interview’, so far, so predictable. But later things get a bit murky. Oprah questions, (with feigned shock and bewilderment that surfaces again and again over the 2+ hour Guide for Dummies on How to Burn Bridges and Drag Your Family Through the Mud) whether the Royal Family had concerns over Archie’s skin tone. (OBJECTION. Leading the witness.)

Meghan replies ‘…if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one.” Unpick that one, Sophocles. So what does this mean? Is this Meghan’s truth ? Oprah’s truth? Conjecture? Imagination? A gut-feeling? Or is the answer hidden in the response- alas that very thing which makes an ass out of you and me? And what happens when your truth and your Deputy’s truths clash? Was it, as Meghan asserts ‘several conversations’  and ‘concerns’ raised about Archie’s skin tone? Or was it rather a passing comment, an ‘awkward’ moment? A voiced curiosity about what their future children could look like? ‘Several conversations’ and ‘concerns’ is not the same as an ‘awkward’ exchange. But it matters not a jot, the dye is cast. When it comes ot the febrile MSM salivating for their all too expected ‘bombshell’ accusations, intentionally neglecting these inconsistencies suits their agenda of lowest- common – denominator click-bait ‘journalism’. (The real bombshell would be if race and mental health were NOT mentioned.) Anyway, what was perhaps (likely) an entirely innocuous, if rather clumsy comment about genetics is now proof positive the Royal Family are racist, backward Neanderthals. This smacks more of confirmation bias than the often shouted unconscious variety.

You see in the age of post-truth, absolutes are antiquated, feelings matter more than facts, sentiment over scrutiny and emotional incontinence over intellect.

My gripe? Where the hell was this when we were younger? I imagine would have saved many a Gen X-er any number of nights grounded and hours in detention.

‘Was that you smoking behind the gym during Calculus?’ (we were clever truants, you see)

‘Absolutely not, sir. That’s not my truth. I was in class.”

‘Very well, carry on.”

Would have spared us all no end of grief and missed proms. Or how about our justice system?

Judge- ‘ I hereby charge thee with theft.’

Thee; “ Well your honor, my truth says I did no such thing.’

Judge- ‘Case dismissed’

You can see in our era of post-truth, this saves society no end of cost, time and hassle. Of course lawlessness and chaos may well ensue, but then, no more jury duty.

Every cloud.

Or perhaps, just maybe as once famously shouted by a glowering Jack Nicholson to a fresh-faced, dare I say quite hot Tom Cruise (before he turned all weird) we just can’t handle THE truth?