Enquiry by WhatsApp – The Sign of Things to Come?

With the current wrangle of the releasing of Government WhatsApp messages it made me think as to where the Enquiry into Covid is going and how evidence will be provided and used for this and for future enquiries into major incidents.

It will no doubt make politicians and business leaders consider how electronic messaging will be used in the future.

It should already be making people be aware of what they say on any form of Social Media, as I am convinced it will be used more in the future to determine the apparent ‘Truth’ of events.

Now I am not convinced of its usefulness, but I recognise it is at least rather better than reliance on ones memory of what was previously hearsay.

A written form will at least provide some basis of what was or is being conveyed, rather than purely relying on peoples perception of what was previously said in the past.

I do however worry about this, as my experience of emails already leads me to believe that because of how people write the message, it can often be misconstrued and read two ways.

Therefore what was written, may still not actually read accurately at a later date, as to what was the true intention of the writer. I do however recognise that a better insight is more likely, but may not be 100% accurate.

It will no doubt be better than relying on one’s memory of spoken events. I laugh at people who are asked to recall what was said potentially more than 10 years ago in court, it is totally unrealistic, I would be lucky to recall accurately what was said 10 hours or 10 minutes ago.

Fortunately, most important documents and agreements will still be finalised and agreed by a more recognised and legally binding format, and in the form of a written contract duly signed by both parties.

The issue then will still remain what has happened beyond the clear written intent, and we will still require lawyers and judges at huge expense to deliberate on the issue, because where there is conflict there will always be a difference of opinion.

There have been many enquiries over the years some taking many years to conclude and no matter what the final conclusion, it does not mean that both different parties accept the judgement.

In my opinion and observation, if the final judgement agrees with your opinion, then you accept it fully, however if it goes against you, you reluctantly have to accept it for what it is, but may still not always agree fully with the result.

So are enquiries worthwhile and do they end the debate? Maybe, Maybe not.

Where there is a public interest stance,  where opinion is equally divided on the issue, and especially where they are politically motivated, then my view is that they are not particularly beneficial.

The outcome of the Covid Enquiry will not change things for those that suffered or for those that lost close family and friends.

I do however recognise that people will always seek the truth, but is this purely so they can blame someone and give them a means to vent their anger, or is it truly a means for closure and to allow them to move on.

As we are all different, I am afraid there is not ready answer to that conundrum.

I think I will be looking back at this Blog at the conclusion of the Covid Enquiry, to see whether the above is valid, I somehow think it maybe……