5 Questions That, If Answered Truthfully, Tell Us Everything We Need To Know About Anyone — Especially Politicians
An update for an article originally published long ago…Please take a few minutes, as I worked hard developing this series of questions.
I have long wondered about what persons running for high public office really think and believe about many issues and topics. I’m talking about what they really think and believe…not what they say in campaign rallies, press releases and tweets. It occurs to me that the inquiry made by a father or mother regarding a young man (or woman) seeking to date a beloved daughter (or son), is often undertaken with more care and attention than we apply to people seeking election to high positions in our government.
In thinking about this, I have developed a short series of questions that — if answered truthfully (which is assumed) — tell us all we need to know about anyone seeking election to the Presidency, Congress, the Senate, or a position on the Federal Bench. The other crap is left to be addressed as purely political questions.
Of course, the whole “truthful” thing is problematic for certain persons…and one in particular comes to mind. Not to worry — the experiment assumes the truth of responses; and something I have found to be true over many years is: people often reveal as much by their lies, as they do by telling the truth.
Naturally, the potential questions could number into the dozens, so I have tried to subsume within just a few questions, the things we need to know, all driven by what we assume would be truthful answers. I have limited the inquiry to 5 questions; and believe me when I say that I have struggled hard to word them in a way (with guiding parameters), that truthful answers will carry over into other potential, but unasked questions. Each question comes with its own set of parameters; and they are in a particular order for a reason.
Question №1
Please state the title and author of each book you have read in its entirety during the last 12 month period (i.e., since COVID-19 came upon us).
Parameters: An article is not a book, even if it is a really long article or a book excerpt in a periodical; Cliff notes or similar helps do not count, nor do various summary services available out there. You must have actually have read the entire book. The Bible, while certainly a book, does not count if you looked up a particular passage — you must have read the whole thing within the time frame stated; likewise, looking up a definition in Webster’s or an entry in an Encyclopedia, does not count as a read.
Question №2
Please list 5 persons who have passed away, but you would have them come back to life, (it is possible here), to continue on where they left off.
Parameters: While it might speak well to your familial devotion, you may not pick a loved one like your spouse, mother, etc. They must be other real historical persons — not (for example) one of the many killed at the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, despite the justice aspect and how satisfying that would be.
Question №3
Please list 5 persons with whom you would like to have a serious philosophical conversation.
Parameters: The persons can be with us now, or have passed away. They must be real historical persons — no Prester Johns, or other apocryphal characters. The conversation can take place anywhere you like, and that person will appear there upon request — the laws of physics do not really apply. You have one day for your conversation. Also…pretend COVID-19 is not an issue. Philosophy being a serious brain-thing, you cannot be high, or drunk at the time…I know, I know, crap — that’s when philosophy is the most fun, as we all know from Animal House).
Question №4
Please list 1 person to whom you would like to address 5 serious questions, and state the 5 questions.
Parameters: The persons can be with us now, or have passed away. They must be real historical persons — no Prester Johns or other apocryphal characters. Assume that once identified they will appear before you in person, and you can ask your questions. The conversation can take place anywhere you like, and that person will appear there upon request — the laws of physics do not really apply. Also…pretend COVID-19 is not an issue.
Question №5:
Please list 5 persons with whom you would most like to have an intimate, possibly romantic, lunch.
Parameters: The persons must be alive presently. It can be just intimate, or romantic, but not necessarily both if you do not wish it. It is quiet, secluded, and money is not a concern. You will be alone, but in public. Also…pretend COVID-19 is not an issue; be as intimate as you both like. The lunch lasts as long as you want it to. It is not a lunch at McDonald’s…think a lovely 5 star (fives again!) restaurant with great service, a marvelous menu and wine/cocktail list — and oodles and oodles of time. Cannot be your spouse or significant other — thus, you cannot get in trouble by not listing them. On the other hand, a simple request leads to a great lunch date…no rejections.
So, there it is. Five questions that, if answered truthfully, would tell us everything we need to know about the people who are asked to lead us (or anyone else, really). Would it work, if applied? It is just a sociological theory and possible experiment, so there’s no way of knowing. But here’s the thing…just by the questions I created you already know a good deal about me, right? Voila! That’s how sociology works.
To test the idea, here are my truthful responses (I had to work to reconstruct my book reading):
№1
The Story of My Experiments with Truth — Mohandas Gandhi; The Portrait of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde; Dracula — Bram Stoker; The Time Machine/The Invisible Man — H.G. Wells; Red Rabbit — Tom Clancy; Patriot Games — Tom Clancy; A History of the Vikings — Gwyn Jones; At Dawn We Slept — Gordon Prange; The History of the Peloponnesian War — Thucydides
Note: since the original article, I’ve added a several Agatha Christie novels, The Secret Archives of the Vatican — Ambrosini & Willis, and the Outline of History by H.G Wells.
Oddly enough…I still believe in truth; don’t believe in vampires (but like M. Voltaire, am afraid of them); know that time travel and invisibility are things yet to come, if at all; absolutely adore red rabbit patriots and Vikings; am almost never asleep at Dawn; and can’t imagine having to translate Thucydides from the Greek — at least not the entire thing.
№2
Mohandas Gandhi; Jesus Christ; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Freddie Mercury; Sen. John McCain
№3
The Dalai Llama; Pope John Paul II; Pope Gregory the Great; Prof. Stephen Hawking; Aristotle (not Onassis)
№4
Donald J. Trump; All these questions; and since one would be missing…”what do you believe in?”
№5
Dame Helen Mirren; Dr. Susan Rice; Sir Patrick Stewart; Jes Hudak; Dr. Fiona Hill
Wow — in doing my truthful answers I perceive how difficult the exercise can be for some of the questions. For instance, it’s hard to leave John Lennon off of my list of people to bring back. Maybe I should have done things in 10s? No, the strict parsimony is important to the exercise.
Jesus? If he were to come back (the Second Coming), does this not trigger Revelations and Armageddon? Well, maybe I don’t necessarily think that would be a bad thing, as I read Revelations as not the end of the world, but the end of ignorance and the coming of the Reveal-ation. You can have your plagues and disasters if you absolutely insist…please allow me to hope for knowledge and understanding.
And choosing between Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan to have lunch with? That was tough — those two are so very cool. I also had to struggle between Minnie Driver, Jes Hudak and Reina del Cid.
But, as to Dame Helen…well (blushing a little here) she goes on just about every list I could imagine; so that was an easy one.
See what I mean?… truthful answers to just 5 questions can reveal so much. Ask them.
