Intellectual dishonesty

THE EDITOR: Intellectual dishonesty peeves me. It is even more maddening in instances when those who inflict it upon us are not even “intellectual” in their dishonesty: as if to say simple-minded trite is enough for us.

The country is rife with examples but I wish to note only the two most annoying as at this past Wednesday:

1. A PTSC official says he must raise bus fares so that buses will be “competitive” with maxi taxis.

Maxi fares are at present exorbitant and bus fares affordable. How on earth does “comparable to” translate to “competitive?” More people are inclined to take the buses as the fare stands at present; so, who does he really want to become “competitive?”

Sometimes I wish I could hit the reset button on this country and rid the hard drive of viruses that, for example, get involved in supermarket business after being hired as cooks.

2. Another man, admired as he must be for working his way through the ranks, says the Police Service needs 1,100 more officers to make a dent in crime. If you think about it, he is saying there will be no dent in crime unless you put another 1,100 officers in the Service.

Therefore, in failing to make a dent in crime, any new Commissioner of Police would be ineffectual with cause.

We all know that it will take years (a) to be able to afford the salaries for another 1,100 officers and (b) to come up with a better process (than police recruitment has recently proven to possess) of excluding the undesirables.

Hurray! This is passing the buck before receiving one cent. And we are all fooled. Detestable!

DAVID MAYNARD

via e-mail