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Letters
Hypocrisy isn't all bad?
While absent from the county and state, I may be unable to
respond to future letters, as I would like to do. However,; ;■ there is one point I want to address, raised by Edith Pond in her letter of Sept. 20. There she shcurply criticized A1 Gore for . * setting "new records on hypocrisy.”
Well, hypocrisy isn’t all bad. If it were, no politician would ever get elected. On this point, I quote with approval from an “ article by William Greider (The Nation, Oct. 2, page 17):
"...even empty gestures can prove to be meaningful, some- - times far beyond what their authors had in mind. An enduring truth, a wise friend once explained to me, is that important ' ~ social change nearly always begins in hypocrisy. First, the powerful are persuaded to say the appropriate words, that is, • 1 to sign a commitment to higher values and decent behavior. - • Then social activists must spend the next ten years pounding on them, trying to make them live up to their promises or per-".' suading governments to enact laws that will compel them to dp ' so..." ■ *'
In the long struggle for social justice, then; hypocrisy "may be understood as essential foreplay." (op.cit.) ' /"
If hypocrisy is universal among politicians (and the rest of us), as I think it is, and if it is not all bad, where does that " ‘ leave us? A1 Gore would have us believe he is a populist, concemed for social justice, helping the poor and disadvantaged, . . and improving the lot of workers, while promoting business ‘ , interests and the environment, all through direct government',' action.
George W. Bush would have us believe he is a "compassionate conservative," whose compassion for people and promotion of programs to benefit them is delimited by his professed * desire to accomplish his ends through the voluntary effort of , the private sector. ; , i
Given the choice between these two hypocrites then, any } reasonable person who votes for a president in the expectation - that some action beneficial to themselves or the American com-,t munity may be taken would vote for A1 Gore.
Lee Bird :
Washington
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