History time!

Thucydides, investigative reporter Glen Greenwald, and Robert Mueller walk into a bar...

My comments in parentheses.

“So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙.”

“And with reference to the narrative of events, far from permitting myself to derive it from the first source that came to hand, I did not even trust my own impressions, (Self examination) but it rests partly on what I saw myself, partly on what others saw for me, the accuracy of the report being always tried by the most 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚. (What the forth estate is supposed to do.) My conclusions have cost me some labour from the want of coincidence between accounts of the same occurrences (Conflicting accounts) by different eye-witnesses, arising sometimes from imperfect memory, (Courts today know that eye witness accounts are the least trustworthy in determining what happened) sometimes from undue partiality for one side or the other. (Obvious here. We are all biased.) The absence of romance in my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest; (If it bleeds, it leads. Otherwise how would we keep our advertisers?) but if it be judged useful by those inquirers who desire an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the future, (Which we all should be) which in the course of human things must resemble if it does not reflect it, (Past is prologue) I shall be content. In fine, I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, (Not sensationalism) but as a possession for all time. (Unlike the pulp news we get.” (Highlights mine.)

Thucydides

From Glen Greenwald.

And Robert Mueller.

The allegations of collusion nee influence nee hacking may indeed by true. I am not a prosecutor, judge, or jury so I can’t say. Politics make for strange bedfellows, after all. I don’t put anything past anyone in power, no matter who they are. But both Thucydides and Mueller confirm that much of what we hear turns out to be false. Unfortunately, we tend to believe the first account of an event; the more sensational, the more believable. (Why's that, I wonder?) Why do you think we are told immediately after (and sometimes before) about an alleged atrocity committed somewhere in a place where there are people we don’t like? Perspective management. And if it is determined to be false, we are lucky to get a page 12 retraction.

And there is due process. If people are indicted, it means that a grand jury determined that there is enough evidence against someone to proceed. They then have to go to a trial before guilt is determined or not. They remain innocent until the judge’s gavel slams down on a verdict. Just like if Trump gets impeached, he still has to endure a trial in the Senate. Nixon resigned voluntarily so the country would not be put through that. Wise decision. As the saying goes in Washington, a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich. There is a reason we need to strive for the rule of law, even for people we don’t like very much. Next time, it may be us.

After all, we don’t want to be part of “the vulgar.”