The truth is out there

It seems to me that truth is becoming elusive. Everywhere you turn, whether it be in the direction of politicians justifying self-serving agendas or marketing men unscrupulously bending words to peddle their wares, honest language is being subverted.
It is not truth's fault. Given her place in the spotlight, truth will stand tall and elucidate with unerring clarity. She will rise above the morass of artifice and deflect deception's darts with resolute integrity.

Sadly, we live in an age when truth's message is increasingly over-dubbed and reworked to meet the requirements of the PR executive, the spin doctor or the politically correct lobbyist, to single out but three. They take truth and polish her rugged, resolute form into a slippery sheen that eludes ones grasp and reflects a bewildering glare.

The thing is, this almost universal toying with the truth has crept into our day-to-day lives to such an extent that its pervasive infiltration is now largely taken for granted. Almost everyone is doing it!

But what has prompted this little rant. Well, a whole host of things. I could go on about the evils of New Labour and its propensity for deceit. Or politicians at large - one only has to consider the expenses scandal. I could also bang on about the arch deceiver, Peter Mandelson and the half-truths he is so keen to push on us regarding the Royal Mail strike. And then there is the financial crisis, Afghanistan, the NHS and Tony Blair's all round despicability.

But no, although each of those and more have contributed, the hand that stretched out and pushed me over the edge today came, quite unexpectedly, from David Edgar, spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust.

Let me enlighten you. Last night, Rangers were thrashed 4-1 at home in the Champions' League clash against Urinea Urziceni, a largely unheralded team from south-east Romania. Hardly Real Madrid!

Well, the Rangers faithful were naturally angry and upset as they left the stadium. Two of them were so distraught that they hurled the bile building within at Maurice Edu as the young American was getting into his car. Edu is a Rangers player but did not feature in the game that night and so could not be blamed for the abject performance. Edu is also black.

He wrote on his Twitter feed this morning: "Not sure what hurt more: result last nite or being racially abused by couple of r own fans as I'm getting in my car."

Cue Mr. Edgar, desperate to avoid his club's fans from being tarnished with the slur of being racist!

"We would absolutely condemn that if that's the case. These are not Rangers fans and they should be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

Once again, truth suffers at the hands of a narrow-minded spin merchant and still the perpetrator is unaware of what a total fool he looks. But then, the issue will soon blow over, Edgar will move on to yet another ludicrous warping of the truth, the neanderthals who dished out the abuse will be disowned by the club and life will go on. This is life as we now know it. So, who is the real fool in all of this?