The Protracted Conflict

The disadvantage of being a public figure is that you are quite often required, or impelled, to say things you don’t necessarily believe to be true. This requirement or impulsion is dictated by the regrettable fact that although you appear to be talking to nobody in particular (i.e., “the nation” or “the people”), in reality you are addressing, according to the circumstances, a group in Congress, a trade union, or a section of the media.

Thus, for example, when Mr. Gorbachev gave his notoriously clever Time interview, his main unseen audience was the “peace” movement out there in the United States and Western Europe.

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Brian Crozier

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The disadvantage of being a public figure is that you are quite often required, or impelled, to say things you don’t necessarily believe to be true. This requirement or impulsion is dictated by the regrettable fact that although you appear to be talking to nobody in particular (i.e., “the nation” or “the people”), in reality you are addressing, according to the circumstances, a group in Congress, a trade union, or a section of the media.

Thus, for example, when Mr. Gorbachev gave his notoriously clever Time interview, his main unseen audience was the “peace” movement out there in the United States and Western Europe.