Our satirist returns with his views on truth, especially as it seems to apply to politicians.
No matter how you cut it
Truth’s an inviolable thing.
On the hand of a saint it’s a diamond
On the hand of a crook it’s just bling.
“But it’s easy to trick most of the people
Cos when there’s a job to be done
Truth’s a dispensable commodity
If the message is cleverly spun.
There are so many ways you can play it
When you’re pulling the wool over their eyes.
You can ramp up the political rhetoric
Put a protective ring around all your lies.
We live in a post-truth world
No point now in talking sense
No place now for all the experts
With their rigour, their facts, their evidence.
The old rules no longer apply
The international order’s in complete disarray.
We’ll pay lip-service to global co-operation
And flout laws that stand in our way.
Ask not what you can do for your country
How to care for the sick and the poor.
Ask how to look after your own needs
Like keeping investments offshore.
When accused of not telling the truth
Cry ‘Witch Hunt! Smear Campaign!’
Wrap yourself in a flag of opacity
Never apologise and never explain.
Throw another dead cat on the table
Announce some world-beating wheeze
Put on your Hi Vis jacket
The public are so easy to please.”
Image Credits: PJ McMullan .