Hinch and the 'truth'

Little did I realise that while I was writing up yesterday's comment, Derryn Hinch was busy at 3AW scuttling himself in the manner I predicted. The issue was again the 'truth', the truth as Hinch sees it, of course. The truth in this instance was aspects David Hookes's private life.

Under the constantly repeated slogan of 'all we owe the dead is the truth' (whose particular origin and meaning he does not bother to explain), Hinch was busy accusing everyone in the media, especially his colleagues at 3AW, of being morally base in not revealing certain aspects of Hookes's private life at the time of his death, funeral and public homage.

Here we have brilliant example of the politically correct mind in action. Hinch has privately formulated an abstract principle which must be applied no matter the actual circumstances. Forget actual people, actual feelings, actual relationships, actual circumstances. These are of no consideration. The 'truth', no matter how gratuitous, inappropriate or irrelevant, must be told.

There is a profound truth, however, that Hinch in the mindless application of his slogan is totally ignorant of. It is the truth about human nature. As Hinch is learning, the penetrating wisdom of his slogan, 'all we owe the dead is the truth', is beyond most people. Indeed, most people are likely to think that the first thing we owe the dead is respect.

For most people, giving out personal information about Hookes's private life at the time of his death, funeral and public grief was gratuitous, hurtful, and dishonourable.

There is something about the truth that Hinch should know. It is that incompetent argument, specious argument, ignorance of the subject being discussed, and the propagandising of one's ideological framework has often the effect of a base lie. In this sense, Hinch has a history of spreading lies.