Secrets: upon them hang lives

OOSE lips sink ships,” so the wartime adage goes. To tell a secret or not to tell, that is the question. Mankind has grappled with this conundrum for ages. There is a mystique shrouding this little, powerful word. Everyone wants in on it.

Once this happens, there are two forces at play: the urge to reveal it or the resistance to doing so. There will be a natural tension. Once one mentions the word secret, you are guaranteed to grab attention. Take, for example, the titles: “Thabo’s chronicles” or “The secret life of Thabo”.

Which one will elicit more attention? Your guess is as good as mine. It is known that wars were fought and battles have been won because of secrets. Even magicians are taught not to reveal their secrets. Jesus’ birth place was kept a secret from the Roman soldiers.

Advertisements of various products revolve around the supposed “secret ingredients” found only in them. No one wants to miss out on a secret, so we get tagged along by the message. Still, the question remains: what do you do with secrets you have? Do you tell or not?

A classic case of the best-kept secret is that of Coca-Cola. According to the company, only two people alive are privy to the complete formula of Coke. They are even prohibited from travelling together. As to who these individuals are, it remains a SECRET.