I have been reading the Marketing Magazine ( from the Chartered Institute of Marketing). The theme was marketing using a story to make the brand stick in people's minds, but there were two quotes which jumped out at me.
The first was: "A tale, however slight, illuminates truth". Absolutely right.
The second: " Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" Absolutely right again. In case you haven't guessed, the stories connected with Iraq and cash for peerages are those that will stick in the public's mind long after Bliar is gone.
What struck me was that these two are ultimately linked. History famously never repeats itself, but it gives a pretty good approximation. And if you haven't learned from your experiences and from mistakes, God help you.
So just now, as Bliar contemplates the ashes of his premiership and the imminent charging of at least three of his closest allies, I hope he spares a thought for Tricky Dickie Nixon, who, if he had stood up and said, " Yes I knew about it, but it was wrong" might have got away with it. Similarly, if Bliar had said on day one, " Yes, we took the money, and yes they expected to get peerages in the fullness of time - what do you expect, we had an election to win." - all this might have blown over.
Bliar, of course, would never listen to his Ancient History - " Those whom the Gods love, the Gods destroy".
2 comments:
Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.
Euripides.
I stand corrected - it's even better in the real version
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