DOUGLAS MURRAY: Being told we can't question 'the truth' of anyone who says they're a victim is more evidence of the world's mass derangement.
What is truth and does it matter? For centuries, civilised society has been founded on the idea that the answer to such questions was ‘Yes’.
But now the whole world is in the midst of a deep, cultural shift.
For some, it is not merely a battle but a war. We live in an age, whipped along by social media, where the concept of ‘the truth’ has disappeared.
Instead of ‘the truth’, we have that wonderful Oprah-ism: ‘Your truth.’ The troubles now roiling our Royal Family, and indeed our whole culture, largely originate in this change.
It is most telling that when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down for a tell-all interview, they did so with Oprah Winfrey.
As Oprah was a friend of Meghan, there must have been an attraction in the belief that they were likely to get away with their litany of outrageous claims, unlike if they had faced a more forensic interviewer.
The latter would never have allowed them to offer as ‘truth’ whatever they decided it is.
They would have been asked follow-up questions and to give hard evidence to back up their assertions. Instead, the couple were free to spin out their sob story in a cascade of subjective truth.
For instance, the Duchess said there was a period in 2019 when she ‘just didn’t want to be alive any more’ and that this was ‘a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought.’
The couple were free to spin out their sob story in a cascade of subjective truth
Predictably, within hours, the whole world was running with her version of events. On BBC2’s Newsnight, presenter Emily Maitlis talked irresponsibly of ‘the sense of attempted suicide’ of the Duchess of Sussex.
There is a big difference between having dark thoughts and actually attempting suicide. It may be a painful distinction to analyse, but it’s vital when such an important cornerstone of British life – our Monarchy – is in the cross-hairs.
Similarly, with Meghan’s other most explosive ‘reveal’: that while pregnant, a member of the Royal Family asked about her unborn baby’s skin colour.
Assuming this claim is true, there need be nothing sinister about a relative wondering what the latest addition to the family might look like. It would be natural to wonder whether the baby would have Harry’s ginger hair or take more after its mother.
As Oprah was a friend of Meghan, there must have been an attraction in the belief that they were likely to get away with their litany of outrageous claims, unlike if they had faced a more forensic interviewer.
The latter would never have allowed them to offer as ‘truth’ whatever they decided it is.
They would have been asked follow-up questions and to give hard evidence to back up their assertions. Instead, the couple were free to spin out their sob story in a cascade of subjective truth.
For instance, the Duchess said there was a period in 2019 when she ‘just didn’t want to be alive any more’ and that this was ‘a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought.’
The couple were free to spin out their sob story in a cascade of subjective truth
Predictably, within hours, the whole world was running with her version of events. On BBC2’s Newsnight, presenter Emily Maitlis talked irresponsibly of ‘the sense of attempted suicide’ of the Duchess of Sussex.
There is a big difference between having dark thoughts and actually attempting suicide. It may be a painful distinction to analyse, but it’s vital when such an important cornerstone of British life – our Monarchy – is in the cross-hairs.
Similarly, with Meghan’s other most explosive ‘reveal’: that while pregnant, a member of the Royal Family asked about her unborn baby’s skin colour.
Assuming this claim is true, there need be nothing sinister about a relative wondering what the latest addition to the family might look like. It would be natural to wonder whether the baby would have Harry’s ginger hair or take more after its mother. Mail
