I don’t generally watch television during the day. However, I have an injury that requires me to sit down with an ice pack a few times a day. So, I ended up watching a bit of the hearings with James and Rupert Murdoch (the family that runs News Corporation–a mega media conglomerate) at the English Parliament. During the time I was watching, someone in the audience threw, what appeared to be a plate of shaving cream, into Mr. Murdoch senior’s face.

After a break in the proceedings to clean up, the hearings continued. Mr. Murdoch was praised for his bravery in continuing after the trauma he experienced. The reason for the hearing was to establish who was responsible for hacking into phones of crime victims (including a young murder victim), deceased soldiers, politicians, celebrities, and possibly 9/11 victims.

Brave. Mr. Murdoch and his son said that they were not aware of these illegal hacking activities and basically refused to take any personal responsibility—even though they’d had previous incidents of hacking at their various news companies in the past. Although these activities were conducted while the Murdoch father and son were leading the company, profiting from the company, and setting company policy—they remained innocent and apparently unaccountable for what happened during their watch.

Good grief. What happened to the buck stops here? Those guys should be ashamed of themselves. Their answers to questions seemed carefully choreographed by their legal team to avoid outright lying, but to stick to their story. Instead of assuming responsibility, they blamed others.

Here’s what I believe–that people who lie about what they have done end up feeling bad about themselves. At the end of the day, the Murdochs may get away without major financial or legal penalties. That’s unfortunate. However, they must look in the mirror every day. And what they will see won’t be brave men who can stand up for truth, ethics, and fairness. They’re more likely to look in the mirror and see pitiful men cleaning off pie on their faces.

You might wonder what this blog has to do with anxiety or OCD? Well, not a lot. I found myself annoyed and wanted to write about it. Ah, the privilege of blogging.

Photo by Sistak, available under a Creative Commons attribution license.

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Best of Our Blogs: July 22, 2011 | World of Psychology (July 22, 2011)

    Last reviewed: 20 Jul 2011