Pretence

‘Wise men talk because they have something to say;

fools because they have to say something’ - Plato

The wise talk because they have a clear sense of purpose and perspective. They truly have something to say… something that can be validated… something that is drawn from objective facts. The fools have no such principal and they generally speak from a situation of ignorance.

It is pertinent to note that frauds also speak because they have to say something. They are on a high pedestal of arrogance and pretence. They speak with incendiary pompousness that is misguided and based on accidental or deliberate misunderstandings.

Once, a newspaper invited a businessman to write a ‘tribute’ to an endearing person who died young. After the customary declaration of the greatness of the dead one, the writer moved on to quote incidents and make judgemental comments that turned the tribute into slander. Readers were livid.

The writer’s pettiness and prejudices were confirmed. It was obvious that he was not the competent person to say something about the departed. Yet he grabbed the opportunity and walked onto the podium of pretence. Pretence is no good even if it is flattery because the public ‘sab jaanti hai’ (knows all).

We must choose to not speak or write when we have nothing to say. There is no shame in not knowing. However it is shameful to pretend that one knows. When we do so we delude only ourselves. We expose ourselves as fools or frauds on the platform of pretence. We should choose to be otherwise.

when nothing to say, don’t commence

avoid falling at the podium of pretence!

~ Pravin K Sabnis