ANOTHER VOICE murray swart Don’t tell anyone I told you

IN MORE ways than not, anonymity can be considered to be synonymous with cowardice, and as a journalist you quickly learn the significance of a person’s identity.

When writing an article, quoting an unnamed source is always damaging to credibility so we generally aim to be able to put a name to a statement.

Unfortunately, this is regularly far easier said than done as the world is full of people who love starting a conversation with: “Don’t tell anyone I told you this but ...”

This has always been a phrase that makes my blood boil as it is almost exclusively followed by ill-informed, malicious gossip.

As author, Simone Elkeles, so eloquently put it: “Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but they think each other’s stink.”

Sorry to say it but this statement is bang on the money and what compounds this situation is the fact that many are incapable of distinguishing between opinion and fact and consider their own self-indulgent speculation to be the ultimate thread for stringing fragments of truth together.

Freedom of speech is a noble concept, like human rights, world peace and communism. However, when put into practice, it quickly becomes evident that what looks good in theory is often destined to be relegated to black and white in a greyscale world.

In this regard, Janis Joplin got it right. ‘Freedom’ truly is just another word ‘for nothing left to lose’ and as our communication skills and technology evolve, the value of information has never been greater. In this day and age, there is nothing free about speech.

Maybe this is the reason why so many people are reluctant to put their money where their mouth is but are quick to judge, ridicule and condemn.

We have all seen this happen time and time again so getting someone to comment, on record, is a very efficient way to get to the juicy stuff while eliminating the empty barrels.

It has been said that nothing is worth living for unless it is worth dying for and I used to be of the opinion that people who are too fearful of victimisation to do the right thing and expose injustice are part of the problem.

Surely, if you are too afraid to be named, you have something to hide. Right? Wrong.

We have a constitution that encourages transparency, protects whistleblowers and holds authority accountable for their actions.

Sadly, as eloquent and encouraging as this document might be, like so many other ideals, it is hardly worth the paper it is printed on.

If you want evidence of this, ask why our political elite fought so hard for a secret vote of no confidence against our president.

In a country where the officials that are meant to represent us cloak themselves in anonymity, out of fear of victimisation, freedom of speech cannot survive.

The idea that the truth will set you free quickly becomes the stuff of fairy tales with little purpose but to give children a false sense of comfort and hope, much like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

Like it or not, we are living a lie. We are lead to believe that we are the masters of our own destiny and that we form our own opinions using information that we choose.

This could not be further from the truth as in reality, what we think, believe and support is predetermined by those who have us convinced that being free to do as you are told is good enough.

Our society is simply not conducive to independent thinking, especially when you are too terrified to claim such a thought as your own.