Ten-Finger Exercises

words of wisdom recovered

Ah, thanks to Bugzy, I now know how to find the precious words (snicker) I've sent to others, hiding in a sent file inside a folder. It's harder to get into than a zip lock bag!

So, for what they're worth, this was a comment I made in reply to a comment on the 23rd. Confused?

I agree that truth is better than lies. Truth, motherhood and apple pie. And I remember being aghast when I first figured out that America disseminated its own propaganda to our own nation regarding WWII. I guess I thought propaganda had only been used by the enemy.

So is there a difference between propaganda and putting 'a spin' on the news? Is it possible to have completely objective news? When 'the spin' bolsters our egos in unhealthy ways to do violence on others, it's bad. When it promotes and encourages our best efforts, it's good. Is that how it goes?

In the first story, the person felt victimized by the lies. Undoubtedly. It has undermined her ability to trust.
In the second, the man at first felt betrayed when he learned the stories were archetypal, then grew into a greater understanding of their deeper meaning. In the third, the family accepted the new story as an explanation of truth that had not been revealed to them before.

Does it help if we ascribe motive to the 'spin' doctors? That is a way to look at the ethics of the deeds. The first man told his stories to look good. The second, the tellers and writers of the the stories, did so to tell a story that was larger than life. The third, to give a family peace.

The third, the evangelizing church members, believed the story they told. The second, the writers of the Old Testament, coming from so many sources and over such a time span, probably did too. Maybe even the father of the first story grew to believe he was telling the truth, but that doesn't seem to be a virtue.


A pastor friend made the response to me, not listed here, that all that is truth is not necessarily fact, and vice versa. Sounds like another blog topic in itself.

I'll try to post a picture of Seamus in his fuschia shawl. He must like the way it feels or he'd probably have it off by now. I did get him to stay inside for part of the night last night, only by dragging him in and hiding the cat though. About two o'clock he was ready to go back out, and he stayed there on his heated pad.