In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis attempted a rational argument for the Christian faith. Whether or not you agree, you have to admire his style. His argument, that God’s existence could be inferred from a universal “human nature”, began with classic rhetoric: he started with points on which we can all agree, like humanity’s mania for rules. Children are innately obsessed with rules and fairness, most particularly as it applies to themselves. If you have ever taken a toy away from a child when such action is deemed unfair, this is abundantly obvious. Even those of us who espouse the “rules were made to be broken” philosophy have difficulty when a rule is broken against our own interests. And when, in all fairness, someone extended the same rules to others, the single greatest ethical advance in human history arrived: the Golden Rule.
Rules are evidently necessary for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (Especially when followed by everyone else.) Naturally then, we castigate anyone who, saying one thing, does another. I know that an especially deep pit in hell has been set aside for these hypocrites, called “reality television”.
Hypocrisy makes especially good T.V. because it is an unprincipled sin which can appeal to the lowest common denominator. By unprincipled, I mean that being a hypocrite has nothing to do with the specifics (or integrity) of your values. Saint and sinner are equal hypocrites when they transgress against their stated ideals (though the saint’s ideals be perfect, and the sinner be a hypocrite for failing to cheat on his beautiful wife.) Another reason hypocrisy makes for good T.V. is the anti-values bias of hypocrisy: the more values a person has, the greater the likelihood that they are a big, fat hypocrite. It turns out that hypocrisy is the unavoidable byproduct of values.
It’s time for pinheads and angels alike to stand up an be counted. I, for one, am a hypocrite. And, with any luck, I plan on becoming an even bigger hypocrite as I add still more values to the list of things that I’m just not good enough to get done. Devoting my life to the service of others? Check. Sharing all that I have with the less fortunate? Definitely not doing that enough. Living a life of health, modesty and moderation in all things? ha. ha ha. HAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. But, I probably should stop making jokes about white slavery.
Song of the Day: I won’t back down, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
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