Your view of hypocrisy

[The Mikado]

On the one hand, I believe that just because a person can't meet the standards he believes in doesn't mean those standards are wrong.  If someone I agree with doesn't meet his standards, I'm willing to give the idea a benefit of a doubt, though perhaps not him.

On the other hand, if someone I disagree with can't meet his standards, then the lying, sanctimonious blowhard just invalidated his entire argument by his conduct.

[Keystone Phil]

[12th Doctor]

Hypocrisy is not when someone sets high standards that they fail to meet.  Everyone naturally does that.  If I ever have children, I intend to set higher standards for them, because I want them to be better people than myself.

Hypocrisy is setting one standard for oneself, and then an entirely different standard for another.

I don't think anyone should set standards of conduct that are easy to live up to, because then your life becomes about complacency, and not embetterment.

I also don't think anyone should judge people who don't live up to high standards, because that is a simple lack of perspective and humility.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Hypocrisy is not when someone sets high standards that they fail to meet.  Everyone naturally does that.  If I ever have children, I intend to set higher standards for them, because I want them to be better people than myself.

Hypocrisy is setting one standard for oneself, and then an entirely different standard for another.

I don't think anyone should set standards of conduct that are easy to live up to, because then your life becomes about complacency, and not embetterment.

I also don't think anyone should judge people who don't live up to high standards, because that is a simple lack of perspective and humility.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     It sucks, as does its prevalence in Congress.

[dead0man]

I agree with Supersoulty.  Also, the level of hypocrisy would matter too.  Does the hypocrite say donuts should be taxed more yet he eats five free donuts everyday at work?  Or does he say he loves freedom while voting for people that continue to keep the victimless crimes laws on the books.

[Alcon]

I would much rather have people who are sometimes hypocritical than the alternative.  That is, people who rationalize away every moral wrong, or don't hold moral standards whatsoever.

I think our cultural attitude of search-and-destroy toward hypocrisy (and lies, unrelatedly) is kind of screwed up.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I would much rather have people who are sometimes hypocritical than the alternative.  That is, people who rationalize away every moral wrong, or don't hold moral standards whatsoever.

I think our cultural attitude of search-and-destroy toward hypocrisy (and lies, unrelatedly) is kind of screwed up.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Hiposcrisy is the honor that vice pays to virtue.

[John Dibble]

There's a line to cross before someone becomes a hypocrite, at least as far as I'm concerned. Nobody is perfect, so even if you have high standards of moral conduct that you expect people to follow there will be times you'll slip up.

To me the important thing is what you do after you fail to practice what you preach. If I slip up, I try to correct whatever wrong I've done. A hypocrite wouldn't do that, they'd just continue on as usual, and would preach that people shouldn't do what they just did. They likely wouldn't even feel guilty, and deny that they did anything.

[nclib]

There are times when hypocrisy is necessary--one who is incapable of achieving something can encourage others to try to achieve it. Though in general, hypocrisy is undesirable and our society has far too much of it.

The religious right provides plenty of examples of hypocrisy that are accepted more than they should be. They talk about the sanctity of marriage, yet those involved in the movement have higher divorce rates than the general population. They talk about protecting unborn "children," yet are less likely to be supportive of health care for children that have been born. They want people to follow what they say, not what they do.

[opebo]

Any belief in objective value is an abdication of reason.  Of course there's nothing wrong with that.

[John Dibble]

There are times when hypocrisy is necessary--one who is incapable of achieving something can encourage others to try to achieve it.

I don't think that constitutes hypocrisy.

[SPC]

Hypocrisy is fine when I do it; It is inexcusable when anyone else does it.