Practice What You Preach!

Sometimes, I feel we're becoming extreme hypocrites. I think of that saying: do as I say, not as I do. As if we're allowed to do or say things, yet we condemn another for doing or saying anything similar. Why? Because we have some higher expectation of another that we don't enforce on ourselves?

For instance, the other day an acquaintance said that politicians, especially presidents, shouldn't use profanity. Well, maybe not but they have. Andrew Jackson, when ridiculed over misspelling a word, during his political campaign for president, said: "It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word."

An internet search can show the many politicians who have - in public and in private. CNN even reported: "While President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton were not known to have cursed publicly, numerous accounts from White House insiders over the years tell a different story -- that both often using the f-word in conversations and arguments inside and outside the White House."

Yes, it's hypocritical to expect others to behave better than ourselves. Most people, that I know, have used profanity and in public. Who gave us the right to expect others to live above the standards we place on ourselves, much less get upset when they don't?

It's similar to our condemnation over politicians forgetting something they've said or they're not allowed to change their minds. Heaven forbid!! Most people I know have changed their mind over how they originally felt about a topic or often regretted a negative impulse. Again, why should we expect any politician to be more superior to us? Aren't they human too? They can't make mistakes? Isn't it hypocritical to think we can err but not them?

Maybe people use the excuse of putting another on a pedestal so they don't have to excel themselves. It may be easier to point fingers of blame but it's definitely not smarter. Many see through the ruse and know it's idiotic. In fact, here again, it's okay for us to call people idiots but not a politician? Really? Of course, all one has to do is read comments on social media to see that many people are. This isn't a judgment - it's an observation.

In regards to observing, I often think our politicians are unconsciously voicing many of our feelings and not just their own. After all, they too are connected to universal emotions. Some may be more colorful at voicing our feelings, because they may not have the filtering that some of my family and friends say they don't have. Why? Because many, apparently, don't choose to be politically correct anymore, including our politicians. If we don't, why should they? 

However, it's easy to change. First, we can stop placing politicians, or anyone, on a pedestal. This only gives our subconscious an excuse to redirect the hate of ourselves onto another - in order to blame them for what we often feel lacking within us. Second, and most importantly: practice what you preach!