More than a century ago, Winston Churchill cleverly used the paraphrase “terminological inaccuracy” to get around the ban on accusing someone of lying in the House of Commons and to draw attention to the fact that that was exactly what he was doing. It should be noted that this convention has survived even if today’s parliamentarians seem more ready to ignore it and assume the consequences, which many have done recently.
We generally greet those who call a spade a spade and it is quite understandable. In the face of Boris Johnson’s blatant disregard for the truth, when the Speaker of the House of Commons is heard ordering Ian Blackford, the chairman of the SNP group [parti national écossais]to insert the terms “inadvertently” after “misled the chamber”, it is less for a question of politeness than because the interested party failed in his democratic duty.
Nothing more than a hunch
Nevertheless, there are good reasons to exercise caution before making accusations of lying. When people are ready to cry foul, it is not a sign that honesty is spreading but that bigotry is increasing. We no longer take gloves and, instead of giving our opponents the benefit of the doubt, we hasten to judge them as harshly as possible.
The difference between a lie and an untruth is simple. A lie is not just a statement that is not true, but a statement made knowing it is not true, with the intent to deceive others, often to cover up questionable actions.
If you have to think before calling someone a liar, it’s because you don’t know the other person’s motivations or state of mind. One can usually establish beyond a d
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Prospect (London)Founded in October 1995, this independent journal of the British liberal left offers a cultured and curious readership high quality articles, with a marked taste for counter-current points of view and contradictory analyses. Proof of the success of this formula, the circulation of the title has been increasing steadily for almost ten years to reach 44,700 copies per year in 2018. A record.
Prospect stands out particularly for the quality of its cultural articles. Their literary reviews and those devoted to the living arts are highly appreciated by readers.
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