The Fatally Flawed Conservative Value of Hypocrisy

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Jul 6, 2008 3:45 PM EDT

 The only vice that can not be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy.  William Hazlitt
 

Several people I asked about the failure of conservative values mentioned hypocrisy.   Michelle, Owen and Steve  brought up areas of conservative hypocrisy in;  family values, education,  finance, the economy,  the occupation of Iraq and in human rights.  While we all may exhibit varying degrees of hypocrisy in our lives, it seems that the conservative movement has embraced and institutionalized this value.

 Failed Conservative Values: Michelle on Hypocrisy

I’m Michelle Gabriel from Oakland, California.  I think that they fail because they say one thing and they do another.  Talk about family values – look at all the Republican candidates.  They have all these divorces and scandals.

You say family values, yet there is no issue about killing a million Iraqis.  I mean, 4,000 of our citizens, you keep hearing about them.  You don’t hear about all the Iraqis that got killed also.  You hear about the strength of our country and the fact that we have such a great population from immigration.  Yet, they have all this immigration reform to stop immigrants from coming in.

They say one thing and they do another.  And that’s the real failure.  And unfortunately, people listen to the rhetoric, and they don’t follow the reality.  

A metaphor for Failed Conservative Values?:  I can’t think of an animal or machine.  I just think it’s kind of like selling your soul

Hypocrite: the man who murdered both his parents... pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.  Abraham Lincoln
 

Failed Conservative Values: Owen Jackman on Hypocrisy

Hi, my name is Owen Jackman.  I am a school teacher in Sacramento.  I think of how conservative values have  failed is “No Child Left Behind”.  I think they have outlawed water boarding as illegal.  This is nothing more than torture.  We are being set up to fail.  We are not serving our children.  We are pretty much cutting and slashing the whole of arts, music, physical education.

A metaphor for Failed Conservative Values?:  The type of animal?  I don’t know.  Maybe a hyena as kind of  two-faced.  You know, we say one thing and we do another.  That might be the animal, but really, it’s hypocrisy. 

It’s speaking for fiscal responsibility, but spending money crazily.   Fighting a war,  but not asking people to sacrifice.  Wanting to be competitive, but not adequately funding our education system.  Saying that they’re for the rights for the unborn, but yet not providing childcare, not providing health care, not providing adequate housing.  Saying they’re for fiscal responsibility and yet leading us to our worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

I sense the dawn of a new political era. I sense the birth of hypocrisy!
 

Most of us are aware of and pretend to detest the barefaced instances of that hypocrisy by which men deceive others, but few of us are upon our guard or see that more fatal hypocrisy by which we deceive and over-reach our own hearts.  Laurence Sterne, 1760

 Failed Conservative Values: Steve Reed on Hypocrisy

My name is Steve Reid, and I believe that’s a myth.  There is nothing of the sort of conservative values.  They are a total lie.  I think that they’ve had 12 years to show their stuff, and they’ve failed miserably.

Hypocrisy.  Definitely.  Well to put it in kind of a humorous way, I believe that they are so busy trying to get into everyone’s bedroom, that they’re in the men's restrooms at the same time.  And I think they are just bizarre.  They are corrupt. 

We all have our problems, I’m sure, both parties, but I don’t see the Democrats pointing fingers all the time.  I see the Republicans pointing fingers every time.  And when you point fingers, you’d better have a clean past, and you’d better live up to what you are pointing your finger at. 

They do not do that.  Most of them who point their fingers the most are those who have the most things to hide in the closet. 
 

A metaphor for Failed Conservative Values?: I’m sure that they could probably relate to a construction equipment called the Back Ho where they keep digging themselves into a hole every single time that they want to build something.

 Self righteousness is a mask for hypocrisy and self importance.  Carlos Castaneda

Hy·poc·ri·sy Definition
 - a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
 - a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.
 - an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction
 - insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have 
 

Hypocrisy From Wikipedia
Hypocrisy  is the act of preaching a certain belief or way of life, but not, in fact, holding these same virtues oneself. For example, a teacher telling students they should not plagiarize, while secretly being a plagiarist himself. Hypocrisy is frequently invoked as an accusation in many contexts.

For linguist and social analyst Noam Chomsky, hypocrisy, defined as the refusal to "...apply to ourselves the same standards we apply to others"  is one of the central evils of our society--promoting injustices such as war and social inequalities in a framework of self-deception, which includes the notion that hypocrisy itself is a necessary or beneficial part of human behavior and society.

 

Oh, look! This one offers a course in hypocrisy.

  Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some Questions for Discussion:

-  What examples do you have of conservative hypocrisy?
-  What is the progressive alternative to self-righteousness and hypocrisy?
-   How have conservative values failed?
 

Failed Conservative Values
Assist us  in systematically building the arguments and telling the stories that reveal how Conservative Values have Failed. Join in our effort to create a documentary and book on the subject by contributing  articles, posts, chapters for the book and video clips. Check our website for more information and a growing outline of tasks that need to be done on this project. 
 

See more Progressive Values Stories:

Failed Conservative Values: Arun Akkineni on Self-Righteousness

Edwin Rutsch
What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
http://ProgressiveSpirit.com 
and Study Group
 

Poll: Why do conservatives seem to value Self-Righteousness and Hypocrisy?
(   ) They are self deceived and don't even see their own self-righteousness and hypocrisy.
(   ) They know that being self-righteous will get them power.
(   ) They can feel superior to others and enjoy their vices at the same time.
(   ) Some or all of the above.
(   ) They don't value self-righteousness and hypocrisy but instead value integrity?
(   ) Others, please explain.

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