{"id":63068,"date":"2024-08-02T16:38:43","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T20:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=63068"},"modified":"2024-08-02T16:38:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T20:38:43","slug":"in-1874-trollope-was-cynical-about-public-events-have-things-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=63068","title":{"rendered":"In 1874 Trollope was cynical about public events. Have things changed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In affairs of public interest we often know, or fancy that we know, down to every exact detail, how a thing has been done,– who have given the bribes and who have taken them, — who has told the lie and who has pretended to believe it,– who has peculated and how the public purse has suffered,–who was in love with such a one’s wife and how the matter was detected, then smothered up, and condoned; but there is no official knowledge, and nothing can be done.<\/em><\/p>\n

The “affair of public interest” Anthony Trollope is talking about is the attempted murder of a young man, the beloved fianc\u00e9 of the eponymous character, by the eponymous character’s mother who hates him because he’s a working bloke, not an aristocrat. The young man, with a compassion the mother doesn’t deserve, tells her he will not report this incident to the police and the mother should keep quiet, too.<\/p>\n

However, as Trollope says, the news leaks out, even in the form of wild rumor. I.e., misinformation.<\/p>\n

As I read Trollope’s observation in his oddball 1874 novel, Lady Anna<\/em>, I thought about the New York Times’ story I read on the Murdoch family fight.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m sitting here wondering whether things have changed that much since Trollope’s time. Yeah, in two ways: speed of info and misinformation, and the expansion of public participation\/conversation to all of us.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, we eventually do get official knowledge and if there’s something to be done, it is done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In affairs of public interest we often know, or fancy that we know, down to every exact detail, how a thing has been done,– who have given the bribes and who have taken them, — who has told the lie … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9518,9743,1175],"tags":[1979,10844,1941],"class_list":["post-63068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime","category-journalism","category-the-facts-of-life","tag-anthony-trollope","tag-lady-anna","tag-rupert-murdoch"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t