Hypocrisy

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hypocrisy as; “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not: behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel.” The definition seems clear, precise even, but is it relevant; do people act consistently enough to apply this definition?

For most of my adult life I have held others to a high standard, based on whether they are true to who they claim to be; I am not sure where this attitude came from. Looking back, I think my tendency to harshly judge others’ behavior based on them pretending to be what they are not, was misguided. Misguided for two reasons: one I am not sure I have always lived to the standard I have prescribed for others, and two, combining what people believe and how they act is too black and white and thus not always a good measure of who they are.

I remember my first job out of college; I worked for a pharmaceutical company and was promoted a few times. After my second promotion I found myself working for a gentleman (I say that loosely), who represented almost everything I hated. We never got along and as such, I left the company within five months of my new role. Since then, I have always felt my departure was principled, and maybe that was part of it, but frankly, it was not really the primary reason. My point is, if I hadn’t had other variables dragging me away from the firm would I have left; honestly, I don’t know. I had two babies to support, and a house to pay for; my guess is I would have played the game to keep the job if I had to have it.

I suspect many, if not all of us, have had circumstances where we left our principles behind because it was in our best interest; it feels like that is human nature. As someone said to me not too long ago, sometimes being able to be principled is a luxury. If you must feed your kids, or pay medical bills, you might be forced to live your life disconnected from what you believe; think about it, what would you do to protect your family? Probably things that fall outside your values.

One could argue I am conflating the concept of hypocrisy and making it more than it is intended to cover; that may be true, it is easy to overthink something like this and for sure I can be guilty of that. Maybe the notion of hypocrisy should be narrowed to capture only activities that are acted upon when there isn’t a legitimate threat to yourself or your family. Let’s go with that standard for a moment and narrow it to those who act outside what they believe, solely for more money and/or power.

Over the years, nothing has disappointed me more than watching our elected officials flip flop back and forth based on something other than what they believe. Congresses’ approval rating is pitifully low, as it should be, and yet they get reelected without much challenge. I can think of no better example of a group that operates with little regard for what they believe in the hopes of growing their own self-worth and power. This isn’t about one party, they all do it, publicly and on the record: every single day.

A simple analysis of the voting of the House of Representatives makes my point; the democrats under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi voted as a block regardless of the issue. In fact, Pelosi was heralded for her ability to hold her conference together on all the votes. Is this a good thing? Are you telling me that over two hundred people from all around the country, representing diverse citizens, are always going to agree, without dissent? In my humble view when the vote is always one hundred percent along party lines, we have a problem.

There are exceptions to the cows following each other neatly in a line approach. Take for example Senator Mitch McConnell; he is no longer Senate Majority Leader and is in the final months of his career. So, what does he do? He decides to start to vote consistently with what he believes; in recent weeks, he has voted no for three of the President’s cabinet appointees. Now let’s be honest, there isn’t a chance in hell he would have done that if he was still in power or wasn’t retiring at the end of his term. He voted his conscience, finally.

There are other examples of this behavior; a congressperson voting what they believe (John McCain voting no to eliminate Obamacare), even if it is against what their party demands, but in almost every case it comes from someone who is retiring.

Funny thing about my line of thinking on this subject, it has changed. Historically, I raged against people like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham who change faster than my Facebook feed. I viewed them as the lowest of the low. I have concluded that judging this way is not helpful. Not because I somehow want to have anything to do with them or people like them, no, my metanoia is that they are just like most people, when given a taste of power, it is hard to act against the need to feed that adrenaline. Ego is powerful, all-consuming, and, at times, dangerous. Members of Congress almost immediately begin to incorporate their own version of ego into an attitude that they are somehow special enough that the country really needs them.

My new awareness that these people aren’t going to change isn’t a big breakthrough, I have just been slow to accept it. When we elect someone to office, we must assume they are going to change and the values that made them worthy of the office will be turned in, so they can receive a membership card that they will do anything to keep.

So, is all lost? No, we have survived this foolishness for a long time and will continue to fight among ourselves and because of our economic power remain the world’s leader. But we could solve this dilemma with term limits. If you know you are about to get fired, evidence shows members of congress will act more rationally and vote with their conscience; wouldn’t that be nice.

The argument against term limits has always been the need to maintain institutional knowledge in the halls of congress. That is poppycock. Rather, I would say that for all the talk about the swamp, there is nothing swampier than congress.

As I get older, I continue to learn things I wish I knew when I was a spry young pup. One lesson I was tardy to learn is that people don’t change, and you can’t fight human nature. When given power, people will fight to keep it. The desire to fight and the belief you are uniquely qualified to carry the flag for your cause becomes so entrenched that nothing short of forced departure will stop it. So, I say, let’s stop it.

I know I can’t do anything about this problem, and maybe it will never change. But the outrage we feel when a congressperson decides to lie to us should fade; if you give an alcoholic a drink, don’t be pissed when they get drunk.

As Aaron Tippin once sang,

“You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything

You’ve got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string

Never compromise what’s right, and uphold your family name”

I loved that song, and for the longest time wanted to believe that most people lived that way. Today, the sentiment sounds cute, but not reflective of the world we live in.

I hope in my remaining years I will maintain my stance on living a principled life, and I hope you will as well. If enough people decide that honesty matters, we might still have a chance.