** With apologies to the great John LeCarre'
I read that book some time ago and I'll admit, at the time, I thought it was the most depressing novel LeCarre' ever wrote.....but I've changed my mind since then.
I think LeCarre' told a basic truth about how "spies" and not just "spies" but "double agents" are groomed. But let me tell you about "double agents" and then maybe it will all become clearer.
My beloved spouse sometimes refers to me as a "double agent"...that is, I sometimes tell her a "version" of the truth...like what happened to the last piece of German Chocolate Cake...or if my son and I (during his much younger years) wanted to do something she would object to we sort of "massaged" the information to make it more acceptable.
Okay...double agent DOES = LIAR. But, at least in my case, LIAR for a good and noble cause.
Politicians are sometimes the best "double agents" in the world. They are privy to information from both sides and sometimes they even work "both sides of the street" in order to accomplish their goals. They work overtime to create narratives about both themselves and their enemies that will appeal or repulse the public opinion. Sometimes the narratives are founded in truth, and other times.....well....not so much....
Personally I don't vary from the truth because I have a bad memory and couldn't possibly remember all the lies necessary to keep from tripping myself up...
So you see, there's a little bit of "double agent" in us all. And for good reason.
In my lifetime, primarily
my childhood and adolescence, I needed to be a double agent to survive in my family. I don't know if I ever said this before but alcoholism was a problem in my family and life could get....let's say INTERESTING at times...my survival and ability to avoid beatings and humiliation in front of my peers depended on how good of a "double agent" I could be. How could I avoid my peers seeing my family at its worse? How did I explain some of the more bizarre incidents involving my family to my peers at school? How could I explain not asking a girlfriend to the prom? It depended on how good I was at creating a couple of good narratives: one for my peers and one for my home.LeCarre's main character in "A Perfect Spy" was in the same kind of fix. LeCarre' s character described each day in his home life as a child as "learning to survive in enemy territory"....which served him well in his future profession. I know what he was talking about.
The experience has served me well in public service becasue I know that not everybody involved in public service is your friend....not everyone in public service is there to serve the public or provide good government and, as I noted elsewhere, some people in public service are just plain EVIL.
I bring this up because I cannot help but keep looking over my shoulder....especially when my companions spend time with my opponents.
Who is the perfect spy?
Me?
Or them?
