Two plus two equals five
Leadership has become about convincing rather than proving
Two plus two equals five.
“No, darling, two plus two equals four, not five,” said Mrs Normal.
Her daughter will not have a bar of it.
“No, Mama, two plus two makes five! Believe me—I watch the news daily, even though I shouldn’t. I’m all over social media, mainly X, all day, most days. I know that two plus two equals five.”
“Darling, let’s walk through this together. Hands up—remember, this is how we always do it—one finger, two fingers, that’s two, then another finger and another makes four. See, darling, two and two make four.”
But who can blame young Jenny? The truth today is all but indistinguishable from fiction. Leadership has become about convincing rather than proving.
George Orwell anticipated Mrs Normal’s predicament as far back as 1945. He was terrified by political leaders’ tendencies to manipulate facts, control history, and promote the idea that objective truth is inconsequential.
Two plus two still equals four. Hold the line.
Nick
Links:
George Orwell
Aleyna Çatak
Most profound yet. Well done.