Confusing the Nation? (a post reposted with a little more reflection)

Oh dear. Or is it "Cuh dear"? The front page of the February 12 Nation tells me that the government will have a "New Thrust" in its policies, especially on economic matters. But I had not seen that when I was perplexed by the story I read online which tells me that there will be "New Trust". Trivial? No. If you search the Nation's reports online you will find no story if you use the word "thrust", but will get some reports if you use "trust". My consultation of Webster's dictionary online does not help me put these two words as synonyms. Both are nouns and verbs; one (thrust) can even be expressed mathematically); the other (trust) can be expressed diagramatically (and was done so elegantly by Einstein).

I trust that I can give credit if it is due, and I love word play. But the online newpaper's article talks about the new government going to make "a great leap forward" ( = thrust). If the notion of trust is really the thrust of the article it may be embodied in the Governor General's phrase "My Government is confident that with God's help and with the support of all segments of society, Barbados can secure its rightful place as a good jurisdiction in which to live, study, work, invest and enjoy the highest quality of life." Hear, hear!.

So can I put my trust in Mr. Thompson and his ministers to lift me to new heights? Or do I need to trust that he and his colleagues will be thrust out of power for not delivering on their promises and betraying my trust?

What really is the thrust of the reports? Trust me, I continue to find too easily reasons to not trust what I read in the local papers.

Finally, and perhaps more serious, it is really strange that the text of the Throne Speech (which I highlight in red [or is it read?] as it is in the Nation online) was not printed in the papers or made available online (and other reports suggest that it was not available). The government's blog has not published a copy online. So I have not been able to read it myself and have to trust that others who were present have not led me astray. Is this what the new thrust of transparency, openness, good governance is about? I trust not.

Barbados seems to struggle sometimes in harnessing developments that would be consistent with all of this talk of new thrust. It should be child's play to get the text published, either in printed form or online. Anyone who works in online publication can do this in minutes at most. It seems like a disservice to the public that the opening page of the new Parliament is not there for us all to see.

Have a happy Valentine's Day.