There is a Tad of Hypocrisy in Each of us

Hypocrisy is evil, and we all aspire to leave it in our wake. However, we all fail. Whether we like it or not, there is a tad of hypocrisy in each of us. Believe it.

According to John Hinderaker over at Powerline Blog :

If the worst anyone can say of you is that you are a hypocrite, congratulations: you are on the fast track to Heaven. On the whole, hypocrisy is perhaps a good thing because hypocrites at least uphold a standard to which they and others are presumed to aspire.

He continues that there are, infact, two kinds of hypocrisy, one which is worse than the other. We think of hypocrite as someone who in public acts one way, carefully following the mores of society while in private acts the opposite. At least with this type of hypocrisy, the person is espousing something good, while perhaps acting differently in private. So, as Hinderaker notes, “there is something to be said for it.”

The other type of hypocrisy is one in which the person advocates an evil principal in public but then follows the opposite in their private lives. This is much worse as it is hurtful to the non-privileged. I can think of a few examples:

Consider those to advocate defunding the police in public, but surround themselves with private security in their non-public lives. You know who they are. This is the worst kind of hypocrisy. Those who cannot afford private protection are left holding the bag, while the rich and famous can protect themselves, the hoi polloi be dammed.

I laugh at the pictures of hundreds of private jets parked near a meeting that is to promote “green policies.” The rich say one thing, but act another. The rest of us are supposed to take the bus.

Another might be the folks who close public schools for over a year but at the same time put their own kids in private, functioning, schools. You know who these folks are, too.

Oh, and what about those politicians who are forcing us to buy only EVs. They can afford these high end cars while in the end, expect the rest of us to go broke or take the bus. It may make sense to you, but doesn’t to me.

I’m sure these folks and others like them can twist themselves into pretzels justifying their actions, but frankly its hypocrisy in the first degree.

I’m not saying we should rush out and act like hypocrites as long as it’s the first type. All I’m saying is that hypocrisy is part of life and like other parts there are more than one type. If you must be a hypocrite, at least go with type one.
JVH