‘We need reminding of our gullibility. But what explains our gullibility and our passivity when we discover that we have been deceived? It seems that we expect no higher standard of honesty from our public institutions.
‘That raises another question: are we sufficiently mature to accept the truth and reject spin-doctoring and suppression even if that involves the acknowledgement of errors and mistakes? Perhaps our own standards of integrity are no higher than the standards we apply to our public institutions.
‘These are troublesome papers, as they should be. Supine acceptance of deception is a marker of moral decline‘, Sir Gerard said of Honesty Matters.
Bold statement, and he’s right. The article is here, and the book can be found here.