SOME OF THE PEOPLE, SOME OF THE TIME....

The weekend papers have been filled with claim and counter claim about the antics at the highest levels of `government` - a word used advisedly. I find it all rather disconcerting. People who don`t need the money are bringing out books about their `experiences` in high office and are paid large sums for the serialisation in national newspapers. It`s all stuff I don`t really want to know about and, for me at least, it has the opposite effect to that which may have been intended.

Now, I`m no fan of Gordon Brown but I do find that this constant sniping of him as a individual is at best distasteful. There must be a `tipping point` at which the persistent kicking of a man when he`s down turns into something akin to sympathy. A dangerous trend, I fear, for those in the highest office are expected to show leadership, clarity and purpose rather than be the subject of any personal sympathy for their plight, however much they may have brought it upon themselves.

Be that as it may, Brown seems to be the subject of at least two truisms. The first is `be careful what you wish for, for it may come true.` He has ached for the post of Prime Minister for years and now that he has achieved the office, he seems out of place, uncertain, uncomfortable. The second is the Peter Principle - the one that says that "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."

Life and its experiences have taught me many lessons. One of them was to come to terms with yourself, your strengths, weaknesses and the limits of your own ability. That way, even when tempting offers come along, you can avoid the pitfalls of blind ambition and the ravages of Dr. Peter. I am constantly surprised that self-perception and knowledge of oneself seem confined only to the most discerning among us. Quite clearly, they are qualities in short supply among the corridors of power. Rather than trying to please some of the people some of the time, maybe they should simply try to know themselves a little better all of the time?