A Lesson In Hypocrisy

Posted on 7/25/2007

The most difficult choice a politician must ever make is whether to be a hypocrite or a liar.”
-Author Unknown

In my duties as a court reporting firm, I find myself on the road quite a lot. So there I was travelling on the freeway behind a Toyota Prius. I was thinking to myself, Ah, what a fine citizen driving such an economical vehicle. 60 miles to the gallon, I've heard. Eco-friendly. Heck, the paint job was even an Al Gore Green. And then it happened.The window of the Prius comes down. The driver flicks a cigarette out of the window. He flicks a cigarette into the air and onto the freeway.

So much for eco-friendly.

So I sped past him and headed straight for my blog. That will teach him! How dare he disappoint me and litter the highway like that?? But as I sat down to write this I remembered that I drive a smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV -- am I really any better for the environment than he? Shouldn't I clean up my own act before pointing the finger at someone else for his foibles? Yes and yes.

That's when it struck me -- sure the guy was a hypocrite, but that did not give me the permission to judge him by his actions while judging myself by my intentions.How many times do we do exactly that at work, with our co-workers, with our boss, with our families? Do we have the right to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions? No and no.

2 Things I Am Going To Do:
I'm going to get a different vehicle soon. Probably a hybrid.
I'm going to keep an eye out for that green Prius... I've got an ashtray for him.

Comment by Michelle
6/10/2008

This is so true! Thank you for making me laugh this morning. Thats a great quote- not judging people by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. Note to self!

Comment by Todd Olivas
6/11/2008

To be honest, I think I heard that quote somewhere. So I don`t want to take the credit for it.
:)

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