In recent times, truthfulness has taken a hit. We are in a bizarre world where black is white, and white is black. Two plus two does not equal four. For many, the world is in a dystopian state where people are leading lives of economic desperation with a sense that society is becoming more and more dehumanized. The lockdowns have aggravated such a state in many countries. Whether it’s real or just perception, to a great extent the press, including many online sites, have been complicit for some time in stoking tensions with the propagation of “fake news”.
Joseph Goebbels, the ex-Nazi, propagandist, famously stated:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people will eventually come to believe it.”
The lies have infiltrated all aspects of our lives. Whether it’s racism, Covid-19 or climate change, the onslaught of false narratives is threatening our way of life. The problem with untruths is that we can quickly descend into a life of hypocrisy.
Everywhere we look, hypocrisy is playing out in society. Recently, during the Seattle protests, mayor Jenny Durkan supported the protestors and allowed them to vandalize and occupy a six-block area of downtown Seattle. Despite the lawlessness, the mayor prevented the police from interjecting. That all changed when the protestors showed up at her home. What did she do? She called the police.
The narrative playing out over and over that whites are racists and that all police are racist pigs has metastasized. It started in America but has spread to other countries as well. Of course, racism is racism wherever it occurs. So when the Black Lives Matter Group chant antisemitic slurs or direct their hatred against whites, what do we call that? It’s pure and simple racism. Vilifying another group because of their colour or ethnic background is racist.
Perhaps the most glaring example of overt hypocrisy are athletes—and entertainers—who speak so glaringly of discriminatory practices against inner-city minorities and yet, would never think of living in those areas. They speak of defunding the police but have private bodyguards and security detail along with state of the art fences surrounding their properties. “Yes, do as I say, not as I do.”
We know that the climate activists are well versed in rhetoric that doesn’t play out in their own lives. Al Gore the big proponent of climate change has multiple homes which utilize excessive amounts of electricity. Barack Obama has built a mansion near the beach. Isn’t he worried about sea levels rising? Of course, the ultimate hypocrisy is the elitists who go to international conferences in their private jets burning fuel. “Climate change for thee, not for me”.
Day after day, politicians told us not to congregate in groups because of Covid-19. People were fined and in some cases arrested for venturing out of their cars or going to a park. Meanwhile, protests erupted in America and several other countries as police sat watching. Several politicians joined the protestors in lockstep. One might assume from such activity that protests conferred immunity to those in attendance.
On a personal level, if we don’t speak to the truth in our own lives, we also fall into a hypocritic maze. If we tell our children not to do drugs and then we stuff ourselves full of opiates or drink to excess, then what is the message that we are sending out?
The message is that in our own lives, what we say has to align with what we do. Otherwise, we operate our lives not with integrity but with pure hypocrisy. In this regard society at large is not setting a good example.
Comments