Spading The Pussyfoot

Just call a spade a spade. Unfortunately, in today's politically incorrect world, that's not possible. We all have this tiny place in our psyches that knows the actual truth of matters, but we have to go about hiding it and skirting around the real issues for the sake of decorum. This morning on national radio, yes radio, I listened to a program of interviews and even though the news journalist asked pointed questions and sought both sides of the issue, all of the experts seemed fearful of addressing the bare truths in real terms. They appeared to be protecting themselves. From what? Truth. This is common in times when truth, the uncomfortable kind that used to be spoken, is avoided for fear of bad headlines and their repercussions. We all know what lies behind politically correct terminology, but no one has the courage to voice any of it. Probably the ones who speak the loudest and truest, are those who are "unavailable for comment" or hold up a palm, and say "no comment". I am all for sensitivity, but there is a bottom line and I find it ridiculous to be part of a world that denies it. Vino veritas is a good quote. It's only in very private venues and personal asides unrecorded, that Truth may be spoken. And why? The answer is Fear. Truth and Fear are enemies. Reporting and journalism of the investigative kind, must be sugar coated according to fashionable dictates, when there was a time when blurting out the hard truth was what readers wanted. Everyone could see, read and hear the truth. It wasn't always pretty, and sometimes it was cruel, but that's what happens when the rose coloured glasses come off. To deal with Truth you shouldn't have to seek out brave, elusive documentaries that tell it like it is, or listen to those who have broken through the veiled politically correct screen at their risk.Today, hearing the experts dodge what the audience knows is  fact, is like witnessing a long, boring fencing match. It takes so long to get an honest point across all couched in cutsey terms that it is a turn-off. One of the benefits of being a listener is like being a text viewer, you can say what you really mean out loud and no one hears it. This morning's broadcast by a well-known journalist who handled the interviews of opposing commentators, was frustrating because we the listeners, wanted someone, anyone on the panel, to "stop pussyfooting around" and "just say it".  The interview ended with everyone being nice, while nothing had been done but air the subjects. No pointed or uncomfortable solutions were offered other than those over-buttered with  love and peace words. Safe words.  It made me realize how much politicians must be trained at what NOT to say, and how to avoid saying anything that could be picked up by the professional nitpickers who spend their days trying to find every little slip of the tongue as a three inch capitalized headline. Truth where are you?