Face value
Ah the façade of life. Not the fabric of omnipresent mcmansions, where steadfast bricks and mortar have been replaced with lightweight masonry frontages. Rather, it’s the pretense in daily life that impregnates the pillars of society like a concrete cancer. All of us put up the barriers at some point and live a sham existence: it might only last a millisecond or as long as it takes to write a sentence; drag on for a day or for what seems eternity. During a press conference, listening to question time, sitting in front of a salesman or presenting to a board, there’s a speciousness in such activities that is oh so predictable. How invigorating it is then when cracks in a phony exterior reveal honesty more potent than drugs in sport. Just lately, there have been numerous examples where veracity has triumphed. Let’s kick off with Todd Greenberg, the CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs rugby league club. In announcing that Ben Barba – the club’s 23-year-old wunderkid and the...