Vennells - In the Faustian Realm
"Vennells, an ordained vicar, constructed a facade of righteousness that gave her a degree of cover."
In Goethe's most famous play, the man Faust, trained to the highest intellectual level of his time, decides to accept a deal with the Devil. The "deal" is that he gives up his moral integrity and acquires whatever worldly pleasures he desires, but then, upon death, he must hand over his soul to the Devil.
Goethe drew upon an ancient storyline that recurs throughout history. In some versions of this tale, the Faust character wriggles out of his fate to earn God's forgiveness. The ending, often co-opted in religious propaganda, can also be that some don't make it, condemned to burn in eternity.
Reflecting on the unfolding evidence at the UK Post Office Inquiry, I couldn't help but see a striking parallel to the Faustian narrative. This parallel is a poignant reminder of the grave injustice seemingly upright individuals commit.
The Post Office scandal is a narrative of thousands of individuals across numerous institutions who chose to safeguard a "brand" and "image" rather than address legitimate claims of wrongful convictions. The details are laid bare here. At every stage, from the topmost leaders to the investigators and even the politicians, there was a clear incentive to perpetuate the lie that the Horizon system was flawless.
The leaders of the Post Office propagated the belief that the Horizon system was infallible. This belief, ingrained in the culture, led to the prosecution of innocent people for system-generated fund imbalances. The investigators, earning bonuses for successful convictions, embody the Faustian elements.
As the inquiry unfolds, we see the face of incompetence, indifference, and arrogance at every turn. The latest individual to join the list of the despicable is David Smith, former managing director. His evidence to the inquiry was smug, dismissive, condescending, and well-released. Slouched in his chair, he responded to most questions with, "I wasn't aware."
Yet this man, in a message to staff, celebrated the wrongful conviction of a pregnant sub-postmistress and her prison sentence as "brilliant news". Seema Misra, from Surrey, was given a 15-month sentence in November 2010 - the conviction was quashed in 2021.
In a cascade of events, the check-and-balances operated by the politicians, lawyers, and judiciary failed as each level swallowed the lie or was incurious. Each turned away despite considerable noises that something had gone wrong.
While there are many players in this tragic saga, Paula Vennells, the former CEO of the Post Office, assumes a significant role in this Faustian analogy.
It become clear that Vennells surrendered her integrity and traded her values for bonuses, power, and status. She knew about Horizon's failings and wrongful convictions.
After hearing the recently released covert tapes of internal discussions about Horizon, the die is cast. Yet she continued to defend the "machine" to the extent of even lying under oath to parliament in person and documents.
We still need to observe and thoroughly explore the peculiarities of the moral dynamic at play here. Vennells, an ordained vicar, constructed a facade of righteousness that gave her a degree of cover. This standing granted her access to roles in many public bodies and the ear of the highest leaders in the land.
In this Faustian realm, every step is a battle, a struggle to overcome and emerge victorious. In a covert embrace of this ethos, Vennells and her team sacrificed the Post Masters, who dared to challenge the established order.
It's striking to see Vennells, now reduced to scuttling between parish churches on her bike. Is she desperately seeking some form of forgiveness or redemption? For her, it may be too late. In Faustian terms, the Devil has claimed her soul, destined to burn in the fires of public opinion.
Meanwhile, the politicians are going along for the ride and facilitating. Several, by willful blindness, ignored the voices crying out for justice. Sir Ed Davey refused to meet Mr Bates and campaigners to hear the truth. Instead, Davey cowered behind protocol to dismiss Bates as a nuisance. Fed briefings by his civil servants, who portrayed the issue only as a PR challenge, Davey sidestepped the substantive allegations of injury.
Is it overcooking it to evoke the "banality of evil"? Maybe, yet contempt and arrogance peppered every response of ministers and Post Office leaders.
Please excuse my simple meanderings through the complex human condition. It's not all bad because there is a spectrum here. Striving for results and pushing forward can be commendable traits that advance humankind. Mr Bates's and honourable politicians like Lord Arbuthnot's drive to seek justice didn't falter. Let's acknowledge that.
But at the extreme, the human drive enters the Faustian domain of sacrificing anything and everything for the result.
More than anything, Faust is the tragic tale of man's (and equally woman's) ever-restless spirit, one of wanting more—more money, wealth, even more knowledge, and nowadays, more and better technology. As humans, we want to build. We are "gifted," in a perhaps unfortunate way, with a constant need to strive for more "stuff."
Still, Faust is a warning: destroy others in our pursuit of advancement, and we destroy ourselves.
April 2024
Goethe drew upon an ancient storyline that recurs throughout history. In some versions of this tale, the Faust character wriggles out of his fate to earn God's forgiveness. The ending, often co-opted in religious propaganda, can also be that some don't make it, condemned to burn in eternity.
Reflecting on the unfolding evidence at the UK Post Office Inquiry, I couldn't help but see a striking parallel to the Faustian narrative. This parallel is a poignant reminder of the grave injustice seemingly upright individuals commit.
The Post Office scandal is a narrative of thousands of individuals across numerous institutions who chose to safeguard a "brand" and "image" rather than address legitimate claims of wrongful convictions. The details are laid bare here. At every stage, from the topmost leaders to the investigators and even the politicians, there was a clear incentive to perpetuate the lie that the Horizon system was flawless.
The leaders of the Post Office propagated the belief that the Horizon system was infallible. This belief, ingrained in the culture, led to the prosecution of innocent people for system-generated fund imbalances. The investigators, earning bonuses for successful convictions, embody the Faustian elements.
As the inquiry unfolds, we see the face of incompetence, indifference, and arrogance at every turn. The latest individual to join the list of the despicable is David Smith, former managing director. His evidence to the inquiry was smug, dismissive, condescending, and well-released. Slouched in his chair, he responded to most questions with, "I wasn't aware."
Yet this man, in a message to staff, celebrated the wrongful conviction of a pregnant sub-postmistress and her prison sentence as "brilliant news". Seema Misra, from Surrey, was given a 15-month sentence in November 2010 - the conviction was quashed in 2021.
In a cascade of events, the check-and-balances operated by the politicians, lawyers, and judiciary failed as each level swallowed the lie or was incurious. Each turned away despite considerable noises that something had gone wrong.
While there are many players in this tragic saga, Paula Vennells, the former CEO of the Post Office, assumes a significant role in this Faustian analogy.
It become clear that Vennells surrendered her integrity and traded her values for bonuses, power, and status. She knew about Horizon's failings and wrongful convictions.
After hearing the recently released covert tapes of internal discussions about Horizon, the die is cast. Yet she continued to defend the "machine" to the extent of even lying under oath to parliament in person and documents.
We still need to observe and thoroughly explore the peculiarities of the moral dynamic at play here. Vennells, an ordained vicar, constructed a facade of righteousness that gave her a degree of cover. This standing granted her access to roles in many public bodies and the ear of the highest leaders in the land.
In this Faustian realm, every step is a battle, a struggle to overcome and emerge victorious. In a covert embrace of this ethos, Vennells and her team sacrificed the Post Masters, who dared to challenge the established order.
It's striking to see Vennells, now reduced to scuttling between parish churches on her bike. Is she desperately seeking some form of forgiveness or redemption? For her, it may be too late. In Faustian terms, the Devil has claimed her soul, destined to burn in the fires of public opinion.
Meanwhile, the politicians are going along for the ride and facilitating. Several, by willful blindness, ignored the voices crying out for justice. Sir Ed Davey refused to meet Mr Bates and campaigners to hear the truth. Instead, Davey cowered behind protocol to dismiss Bates as a nuisance. Fed briefings by his civil servants, who portrayed the issue only as a PR challenge, Davey sidestepped the substantive allegations of injury.
Is it overcooking it to evoke the "banality of evil"? Maybe, yet contempt and arrogance peppered every response of ministers and Post Office leaders.
Please excuse my simple meanderings through the complex human condition. It's not all bad because there is a spectrum here. Striving for results and pushing forward can be commendable traits that advance humankind. Mr Bates's and honourable politicians like Lord Arbuthnot's drive to seek justice didn't falter. Let's acknowledge that.
But at the extreme, the human drive enters the Faustian domain of sacrificing anything and everything for the result.
More than anything, Faust is the tragic tale of man's (and equally woman's) ever-restless spirit, one of wanting more—more money, wealth, even more knowledge, and nowadays, more and better technology. As humans, we want to build. We are "gifted," in a perhaps unfortunate way, with a constant need to strive for more "stuff."
Still, Faust is a warning: destroy others in our pursuit of advancement, and we destroy ourselves.
April 2024
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