Emily Simpson

Dr. Burke
October 12, 2016

Hypocrisy, an Age Old Transgression

Have you ever told siblings or friends not to do something that you,
yourself do every day? Have you ever criticized someone's eating habits?
Have you ever advised a friend about their dysfunctional relationship? Have
you ever told someone to stop an addiction or bad habit when you very well
know that you have addictions and habits of your own? Have you ever been
called a hypocrite? Well even if any of these situations dont apply to you, I
can assure you that you are still a hypocrite. It can be deemed nearly
impossible to get through life without coming across a situation where your
beliefs and the things you say dont match up with what you actually do.
Now that we established that you are a hypocrite you should do society a
favor and just stop. If you cant stop then consider isolating yourself from
society because as a hypocrite your disease is contagious. Being a hypocrite
is dangerous and poisonous to society.
Do not fret because you are not the only one! Being a hypocrite is part
of human nature. Just like the saying, "Everyone makes mistakes" and

"Everyone lies," it can also be said that, "Everyone is a hypocrite. Actually,

let me rephrase, Everyone is a hypocrite except me. The Human complex
is the concept that people are helplessly flawed, selfish, imperfect, and
anxious, etc. So why not just accept hypocorism? I dont think people should
as a society accept hypocrisy, and you can do better. Reader dont mind me,
I am excluded from the human complex because I embody the image of a
PERFECT human considering all aspects. Whether those aspects are
spiritually, physically, emotionally, and every other that are too below me to
spend the time to mention. So unless you are perfect like me, then it is
advised to double check whether your actions or words deem you a
hypocrite before you say or do them.
This is a massive problem to society because essentially it is
responsible for hate and discrimination. People are quick to judge when they
dont think to put themselves in the same shoes as those they are judging.
Some examples of hypocrisy on a worldly scale are; the lack of empathy
towards homosexuals, the large absence of people helping charitable causes
yet feel abandoned when theyre hit with a hurricane, and when people want
less taxes yet better schools and roads. On a personal scale it is the cause
for the shortcomings people face and inhibits them from reaching their full
potential. What people say and what people do are two different things and
until people learn to close that gap, they will not achieve their goals.
Hypocrisy is considered a severe threat to religion, specifically the
Christian church. Jesus was the harshest on the parissabees for their

hypocrisy because in a position of power and influence hypocrisy is

detrimental to integrity. Churches treat it as a very dangerous habit to get
into. For Christians there is a parable where Jesus preaches about casting the
first stone. In this parable, Jesus within crucial moment, didnt allow others to
stone a woman unless they were perfect and didnt commit any sins. This is
a well-known parable in the Christian religion and teaches a basic example of
hypocrisy, condemning others for their mistakes. In a church, leaders who
are caught in hypocrisy makes the church and religion lose their credibility
and reliability. Being a hypocrite makes you a liar and what you represent
untrustworthy. Hypocrisy is a deadly sin in the bible for the Christian religion.
In Islam it is also mentioned as a deadly habit. It is taught by my many
religions that people should be afraid to become hypocrites.
There is the aspect of political hypocrisy as well. When government
leaders cant manage to abide by the laws they try to implement, it in turn
condones people to become less inclined to follow these laws. Hypocrites are
mistrusted and not taken seriously. The governed population uses a political
leaders hypocrisy as vindications for breaking the laws. This is just an
equation of caosis when laws lose their impact and those implementing them
lose their authority. The population will undermine their laws, which makes it
a dangerous situation for a population to live in.
Hypocrisy example on an individual level is massive in severity also.
Being a hypocrite will not only hurt society as a whole, but most directly
hurts the individual guilty of this transgression. Advising people on advice

you dont even follow yourself will hinder you from achieving goals. Clearly
you know what steps you need to take to achieve your best self, physically,
intellectually and emotionally but you gave up. Somewhere along the road of
working towards your goals you decided that you werent worth the hard
work it takes. Can you imagine all that you can accomplish if you took your
own advice?
Although it is a common human folly to fall into, we can still do better.
The Solution to hypocrisy are straightforward and easy to understand.
However it can be hard to stay consistent. Some ways to avoid hypocrisy
are: being honest to yourself, stop judging others, and realize that the world
isnt a matter of black and white because there are many gray situations.
To save yourself from hypocrisy just hold yourself accountable. Keep in
mind that you are worth more than all the lies. Be honest by upholding your
own promises and not paying mind to others around you this will help you
stay true to your own moral compass. Ignoring the influence of others
enables you to make decisions following your own moral compass and act
according to your own beliefs therefore your actions wont contradict your
morals. Like I stated earlier there are many different aspects of hypocrisy to
consider every day. Ignoring others in your environment will allow you to not
be influenced by them which condones your actions to align with your
principles. Although you cannot completely ignore and not be influenced by
your environment you should in turn just surround yourself with the
environment that best matches your own morals.

Another way to avoid hypocrisy is to not call others out. If you dont
want to draw criticism to yourself then dont criticize others. To help the
world overcome hypocrisy you must fight it within yourself first. Never
condemn others for their mistakes because there is a likely chance you are
wrong. You shouldnt be judgmental of others when you have your own
baggage that you deal with. Also I like the imagery of people being like an
iceberg, others most likely see only above the surface so you cant really
know everything about that persons life to judge them accurately. If you
cant judge them right, then dont even judge at all.
Its important to realize that you are a hypocrite and that context can
change the morals of any situation. As humans we want to live in a world
where things are either simply right or wrong, black or white, and yes or no.
However it is pertinent to understand that this is not the case. There are
many lurking variables in any situation and the context is an important
consideration for decisions. Your future non hypocrite self would show
empathy to others through their tough decisions and try to understand.
Context changes the way you think so it is best to just keep an open mind.
Just know that, There are no universal truths, everything changes, and your
values should be subject to constant scrutiny.