The bodyguard has killed the hostage
Winston Churchill said that, in wartime, Truth was so precious she had to be attended by a bodyguard of lies. It’s a picturesque figure of speech, satisfying in its faithful representation of reality but also ominous – to me anyway. Ominous because it makes me wonder what happens to the members of this bodyguard when they are no longer needed. Are they sacked? Made redundant? Put aside until the next war? Or do they decide for themselves that their role is always vital, that the war never really ends and that truth is theirs to do…
