A Brief Rant

I don’t usually go in for ranting about politics on this blog. Those of you who read this blog (the few and the semi-proud) know that lately, it has descended into a book challenge/review blog. While it might be interesting to some, to others it might get a bit boring (Hi NE!) So, I’m going to try and include a few of the rants that I voice, but don’t write down. Heaven knows I do rant a lot offline.

My first rant is about politicians and how they twist their words/spin. You might be a bit familiar with the concept that politicians may not tell the whole truth all of the time, but bear with me while I go through my thoughts. The genesis of this rant has it’s origins in the fact that I’ve recently started listening to BBC Radio 4’s Best of Today podcast series. Normally I steer very clear of having anything to do with listening to politicians, but I wanted to listen to highlights of the day’s news and this invariably involves politicians being interviewed by Radio 4 presenters.

I know politicians lie and twist the truth and I’ve come to expect it. The big difference is that in America, where I’m originally from, the interviewers ask the politicians a question and let them answer it or non-answer or evade it in any way that they want. Then they move on to the next question. In Britain this is not the case.

Let’s set down a generic question and answer:

INTERVIEWER: Pointed question.

POLITICIAN: Non-answer that points toward the message of the day

INT: Restate pointed question + sterner tone

POL: Evasion + defensive attack on opposite party

INT: Chastise POL for evading + restate question + exasperated tone

POL: Non sequitir answer + restate message of the day

etc, etc…

During this whole process, which must go on through five, six, or even seven repetitions of the question, I am seething with anger. Try as they might the interviewer cannot get the politician to admit that they are wrong or they made a mistake or whatever is the objective. I don’t know what the point of this dance is any more. I’ve sat through a half dozen of these interviews now and at no time has a politician or political appointee ever been wrong or done anything wrong. Even when they clearly have! So, what does the interview hope to achieve? Other than to see the pol’s squirm or to cause me to seethe in anger. I just don’t know.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d rather an interviewer ask the questions that need asking and not just lob questions up there to be answered in their own lying way. Be that as it may… I’ve quit listening to these interviews. I’m not politically naive and I know politicians lie all the time.