A great Fenian, John O’Leary said there were things that a gentleman should not do, even for his country, such as cry. Some Irish politician or other used weep in public to prove his patrotism.
Reserve and self-control were regarded by perhaps most Britons as necessary for their self- respect, Whatever their faults, Churchill, Attlee, and British political leaders did not blub in public.
So much for the past. But the future? On Tuesday June 1st at 9.30 PM ITV will screen a pre-recorded BLUBFEST by Piers Morgan where a wannabe British Prime Minister weeps about the deaths some years ago of his parents. Most of us weep when parents, siblings or friends die
But we do not do so in a calculated manner and milk our grief for personal advantage.
I can’t be the only one to think that only a Jerk would shed a Tear in such a base manner.
In Grand Opera counterfeit grief inspires great art; Sir Keir Starmer’s performance might yet outshame an Oprah weepathon.
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