On Being a Hypocrite

Watching the small fringe group calling themselves anarchists trying to disrupt the RNC in St. Paul brought to mind how easy it is to be hypocritical. The dictionary definition of anarchism is "a belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis." (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition) Our society is built on freedoms that include the right to hold beliefs contrary to the status quo and to speak them out. The message of the anarchist activity in St. Paul is a direct contradiction to what they say they believe.

The message is that people are NOT free to speak and act as they believe, otherwise, why try to keep the delegates from reaching the convention?

The message is that organization of society is NOT voluntary or cooperative, otherwise, why try to keep people from what they believe is right?

The message is that some form of government IS needed to protect private citizens from terroristic acts of violence that the anarchists clearly perpetrated.

But this ought to be a lesson to all of us to look carefully at how our behavior aligns or doesn't align with our beliefs.The very essence of ethics is to articulate a clear value system and act in accordance with it.

Repeat this: Starting with me, I will examine my intended behaviors BEFORE acting to see that they are not hypocritical.