Hypocrisy Getting A Bad Rap

Hypocrisy: is the act of pretending that one has beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities or standards that they do not actually have; this is usually done in order to mask their actual motives or feelings; falseness.

Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Rush Limbaugh, et al. Spouting one view, living another. Telling you how you should act, while all the time acting out the role they so publicly despised. And for that the blame is affixed to their hypocrisy.

I have a real problem with Mark Sanford outsourcing his desires to another country when hardworking American women of easy virtue, especially in this economy, are out of work. That, along with his public pronouncements of morality and calls for President Clinton to resign when he does not yet seem to see a need for him to step down as governor makes his hypocritical actions an easy target.

But while we shake our heads and empathize with the casualties of their lies, the real victim of the politicians' defective decision-making is not the wife, not the children, not even virtue. The real victim is hypocrisy itself. Politicians are giving it a bad name.

For so many years hypocrisy has done its job, revealing the foibles and fables of the famous; the reality behind the image, and with our politicos, the truth with which the public is able to make a better decision in the voting booth. In short, hypocrisy is one of democracy's best tools.

Like the bacteria that blossoms into penicillin; like the polio that becomes its own vaccine; like the many failures (see Lincoln's road to the presidency) that become steppingstones to success, hypocrisy made public is the ugly duckling that provides us an honest swan..

Yet, instead of applauding its merits, it seems that every time a politico is hoisted on his own petard, with soured taste, we condemn their hypocrisy.

I say it's high time to appreciate what hypocrisy does for us.

While it ultimately provides the truth, anytime a puffed up powerful politico falls off his self-constructed moral pedestal it makes us feel better about ourselves. Maybe we aren't falling so short of the supposed perfection these guys ascribe to everyone but themselves.

In the least it makes us smarter voters. In the most, it makes for some good clean fun...and we don't even have to leave the country.

Award-winning TV writer Steve Young is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" www.greatfailure.com and blogs at the appropriately-named SteveYoungonPolitics.com

Comments

[Baja]

Well...these unfaithful guys ARE consistent. They are almost uniformly unfaithful to their espoused Christianity, and unfaithful to their sworn and paid jobs to serve the public.

The interesting, and discouraging, thing is---why the public gets all in a dither only when they have sexual dalliances. Why we have this syndrome is an easy question. If they followed Christian principles (about killing, showing mercy, stealing, etc) or served the public interest first and foremost...that would not be good for business...so mainstream media do not address those things.

[JazzPuff]

"How clever you are, my dear! You never mean a single word you say." - Oscar Wilde

iWhen voting a poltician into office, I will now look to see if they have film credits, or better yet maybe
some performance garnering an award. There are nominees; Paulson, Cheney, Bush, -Oscars, I think.
Liked, hated-LOVED, may be baggage in office; accomplishing what is necessary to do the job, is what should be key, dare I say getting in and out without people noticing that they really did do what they said they would while in office is the best performance..

[Republicnotademocracy]

LOL! Well said, and more profound *because* of your evenhandedness!

[Steve Young - Huffpost Blogger]

My fault. I took Boblatah's suggestion and appropriately added JE a wee bit before.

SY

[BobLablah]

I agree with you 100% but would it have killed you to include John Edwards in your list? I find that occasionally taking stances against people on your own side of the aisle increases credibility.

[hapkidokid]

"Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Rush Limbaugh, et al. Spouting one view, living another."

Perhaps you read too fast and did not notice...