Professional hypcorisy.
One of the most irritating things in this world is hypocrisy.
Most sane people will find discomfort in the blatant conflict that arises between a persons words and actions that work in opposition to those words.
It happens all around us, all the time, in forms both large and small… and nothing embodies hypocrisy more completely than that of politics. And now, as the last stages descend upon the media, we’ll see the pinnacle of that in the last stages of the US presidential elections.
Sure, we see hypocrisy in a number of places in our society. I remember when Queensland Parliament passed amendments to our traffic laws making the use of mobile phones whilst driving illegal, I was walking down to have lunch at the Botanical Gardens with some friends and saw a cop drive past in a marked police car… whilst talking on his mobile phone.
Sorry if I feel that police should be held accountable to the laws that they enforce, like the rest of us. Interestingly, and coincidentally, during the course of writing this entry, I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of dealing with another of Queenslands finest. Driving home late from futsal last week, one of the members of our law enforcement community decided that ’safety first’ didn’t apply to him as he tailgated me, sped past, cut me off and blatantly ignored the speed limits… zooming away, along the main road that I live on the corner of. Imagine my surprise when I got to my place a few minutes later to see him parked across the street DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE!!
Since he surprised me, I felt it only courteous to return the favour with a surprise for him and phone in a report to Police Headquarters at Roma St in town.
Surprise, asshole!!
Now, admittedly, this level of hypocrisy is not on the same plane as that of priests preaching to their flock about virtuous living, abstinence and all that whilst all the while molesting the altar boys. That’s considerably more vile than a cop using a lead foot or chatting away whilst driving, admittedly. Kind of like the hypocrisy behind ‘right to life’ types threatening the lives of those who work in planned parenting clinics.
But recently, I’ve heard two pieces of hypocrisy that just get my back up and put me into one of my trademarked indignant rants.
The first relates to the US Presidential Elections… in the form of John McCain’s newly announced running mate, the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. She is an interesting choice for an aging conservative Republican like McCain… if only for her gender, but also for her age, being considerably younger than McCain. However, she has the most unbelievable credibility issue in her political stance in hypocritically stating that she is pro life AND supports citizens rights to own guns.
Ah, HelllOOOOOO! What the hell kind of drugs must someone be taking to support two things that more or less run contrary to one another? It’s kinda like a “Say no to drugs” advocate dealing smack on the side.
But then again, I guess that embodies the American nation quite effectively… a land of drastic contrasts, living side by side, with little thought to legacy or consequence.
Which brings us to Australia’s following in Americas footsteps. Recent calls have been made to change legislation making abortion legal, enabling women to choose whether they want to continue or terminate a pregnancy. However, the very same people that make these decisions have also rejected changes to the laws that would permit voluntary euthanasia, thereby removing the ability for people with terminal illness to decide when and how they pass on… taking away the last shreds of dignity that illness would otherwise rob them of keeping.
How can we be about choice at one end of the spectrum, and not at the other as well? Don’t mistake my position, I’m not about to go running around, flipping the switch on family members at deaths door… quite the opposite, in point of fact. I believe that in making that choice, we forego any chance that science and medicine can reverse the conditions of those suffering. I do, however, realise that for some people, it is about ending the suffering of not only the person dying, but their loved ones as well.
Importantly, I believe that we should be able to choose.
One of the most fundamental freedoms that all of us should value and respect is that of self determination.
My father is a great example when, 25 years ago, doctors told him he had 10 years at best to live with a degenerative condition. Instead, he did the mental equivalent of digging in his heels, and now, 25 years later, still confounds the so called ‘experts’ by refusing to die. Had he decided to just give up, I’ve no doubt that he would have died by now, but he knows that science could one day reverse his condition and so chooses to fight on so long as the quality of life is there.
And that’s the kicker… the quality of the lives we lead.
I think that’s why hypocrisy pisses me off so much… it drags down the quality of life and ruins things for so many of us… whether it be your boss nagging you for turning up at 9:05 when they take 2 hour lunch breaks and leave early, or a candidate for the leadership of an overpopulated nation advocating further actions that continue that overpopulation, coupled with a position that feeds violence that keeps that country living in fear.
So, what can you do about this?
