NEVER BELIEVE

Many years ago, I was given a phrase that has served me well ever since. “Never believe anything until it is officially denied”. That sounds a little trite and even facetious, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. It was told to me by a British Government official who helped with the process that eventually had me appointed as a British Honorary Consul. The short phrase has come back to me on many, many occasions since that time, and it still holds as true today as it did when I first heard it.

      This week Donald Trump announced, “I am not a dictator”, and the phrase came back to me with a vengeance.

      The obvious theory behind the phrase is that, if a controlling entity, be it a government, company, church or any other organization, is forced to make a statement of denial of any sort, there must be a solid reason for having to do so. That reason is frequently an attempt at a coverup. Hence the phrase: “Never believe anything until it’s officially denied”. Think about it for a minute. If there was nothing there is the first place, why go to the bother of denying it? In a way, it is a back-handed way of confirming the fact that whatever they are denying is true.

      If you apply this simple phrase to politicians, it makes even more sense, because they seem to spend most of their lives denying one thing or another. Accepting this simple phrase, gives us all a better sense of what is really going on and that, in a way, helps us feel we are understanding the chaos around us a little better, horrifying though that may be.

      In today’s world, anything that brings a sense of reality into the chaos we face daily, especially from Trump and his minions, is helpful to our mental health, and, perhaps, even to our survival as a country.

      The phrase has been true of many politicians, governments, companies, churches, etcetera, for years; dictators are especially adept at this technique, only they follow it up with punitive action against the perpetrators of the information they deny. Trump, however, has taken this process to a whole new level, particularly when we think we operate in a democracy. Denial of sex offenses, denial of business abuse and illegal actions plus a litany of other denials are endemic every time he opens his mouth, which is far too often.

      I am reminded of the other, more common, phrase that asks the question: How can you tell when a politician is lying? The answer being: When he/she opens their mouth.

      However, Trump has now entered a new phase, in another statement from this week. He confidently said to reporters, “I can do anything I want”. If that’s his mantra, he doesn’t have to deny anything because it doesn’t matter. That appears to be our current situation in the United States and, to some extent, in our world.

      If no-one stands up to stop him, he doesn’t have to deny he is a dictator because it’s already a fait accompli. “Hope” says we are not quite there yet. Reality say we already are, and the longer he is allowed to continue, the worse it’s going to get. He appears to be totally convinced he is invulnerable, and therefore there are no restraints on whatever whim he happens to follow at the moment.

      The only good news is that that’s what all dictators believe, until they are deposed.