Now that Senator Larry Craig of Idaho has resigned as a consequence of the the charge of soliciting gay sex in a public restroom at the Minneapolis Airport, perhaps we have reason to consider the more general question of what constitutes hypocrisy. Craig had been an vocal advocate of “family values,” so his legal and moral predicament obviously lends itself to the charge of hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy rests on pretense; the pretense of advocating one thing and in one’s private affairs acting a different way. Unfortunately, such a strong and inflexible standard makes hypocrites of us all. All of us profess standards we aspire to but that natural human imperfections make impossible to always achieve. If we are all hypocrites, then the term looses meaning. Hypocrisy is consequently a continuum ranging from conventional human frailty to presumptuous pretense.
In the area of public policy, what is often characterized as hypocrisy is an unfair charge. Someone can genuinely advocate one public policy, while arranging one’s own private affairs differently in the context of given law. For example, one could earnestly believe that the tax deductibility of homoe mortgages should be eliminated, while at the same time taking advantage of the existing provisions of the law in one’s own finances and not be a hypocrite. It is possible to be in favor busing of students to achieve racial ntegration and send one’s own kids to private schools and not be a hypocrite. It is possible to be gay, and oppose the agenda of the most vocal gay lobby and not be a hypocrite.
As long as people advocate their positions out of humility they are generally safe from charges of hypocrisy. True hypocrisy enters with when finger-wagging pretension. If one vocally chastises others for any behavior and then gets caught red-handed violating their own strictures, the charge of hypocrisy is appropriate. This why those preachers who self-righteously extort their flocks to good moral behavior and then repeatedly engage in immoral behavior are so easily labeled as hypocrites. That is why those environmentalists who direct people to live their lives frugally yet wallow in conspicuous consumption themselves remain striking hypocrites.
Hypocrisy is a real vice and there are two ways to avoid it: (1) Combine high aspirations for behavior with a humble recognition of personal limitations, or (2) Have to no high moral aspirations one can fail to meet. The former is preferred.
What Does the Correlation Mean?
Thursday, September 6th, 2007A study was recently published in the Journal of Family Issues that found that men who live with their girlfriends are more likely to help in household chores than similarly situated married men. This finding raises significant questions. Are men who decide to move in with their girl friends more liberal in their social attitudes and consequently less likely to assume traditional male roles? Do men who live with their girlfriends assume that the relationship is provisional and are thus on their best behavior? In married life, do men feel a greater responsibility to provide for their families and are consequently too exhausted by work to contribute as much to household maintenance than they otherwise might be?
Deeper in the report is the curious datum that men who help out around the house find that their mates are more eager to engage in sex. The implicit suggestion to men is that if you are more helpful around the house you might be rewarded by a more energetic mate willing to have sex more frequently.
Neil Chethik another sociologist was was quoted by US News as averring, “If men are interested in keeping their sex life vibrant, they may help to wash the dishes and vacuum every now and then…”’
The study in the Journal of Family Issues was written by two woman and only one man, so the alternative explanation might not come quickly to mind. Allow me to humbly submit that the causation in the housework-help-to-sex correlation might be in the opposite direction. A willingness on the part of women to engage in more frequent and boisterous sex might put men in such a positive frame of mind that they are enthusiastic about helping their mate around the house. Just a suggestion.
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