{"id":186541,"date":"2021-03-02T10:02:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T15:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=186541"},"modified":"2021-03-02T10:02:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T15:02:43","slug":"the-deeper-danger-of-political-hypocrisy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-deeper-danger-of-political-hypocrisy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deeper Danger Of Political Hypocrisy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-deeper-danger-of-political-hypocrisy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=186541&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-92570444-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Accusations of hypocrisy are perhaps the most reliable feature of any political battle. On a routine basis, both political parties will point to the hypocritical statements or actions of their opponents, while presenting themselves as the consistent and ideologically pure alternative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>One such example was<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/berkeley-teachers-union-president-seen-taking-daughter-to-in-person-classes-after-leading-charge-to-keep-schools-closed\"><span>demonstrated<\/span><\/a> <span>by the Berkeley Teachers Union president Matt Meyer, after \u201cvideo surfaced of him taking his two-year-old daughter to an in-person preschool,\u201d despite advocating for a \u201cgold standard\u201d which demands that Berkeley schools remain closed \u201cuntil all educators and district staff members have been vaccinated and schools agree to enforce social distancing and mask wearing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In this example, and countless others, the accusations of hypocrisy are entirely accurate. Meyer advocated for one rule for \u201cus,\u201d and another for \u201cthem.\u201d We\u2019ve seen this happen during COVID-19 lockdowns, whether it be politicians ignoring mandates in order to receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/09\/02\/politics\/nancy-pelosi-hair-salon\/index.html\">hair treatments<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/news\/fox-11-obtains-exclusive-photos-of-gov-newsom-at-french-restaurant-allegedly-not-following-covid-19-protocols\">dine indoors<\/a>, and it almost always comes hand-in-hand with an open abuse of power. In simple terms, the powerful see themselves as inherently exempt from the rules they set for the rest of us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While much of the debate around political hypocrisy descends into one of two camps \u2014 either condemning the blatant abuse of power or debating whether such accusations are examples of \u201cwhataboutism\u201d \u2014 many continue to miss the broader and more dangerous impact of hypocrisy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is the impact repeated hypocrisy has on the psyche of society when it comes to policy. In the case of Meyer, his \u201cgold standard\u201d demands are demonstrably absurd \u2014 a position supported by \u201cthe science.\u201d His hypocritical dismissal is then taken by critics as proof \u2014 using a circular argument \u2014 that his policy suggestions are absurd. \u201cSee? I told you these lockdowns are stupid, the politicians aren\u2019t even following their own rules!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Now, while Meyer\u2019s policy suggestion is ineffective, his hypocrisy is unrelated to any logical argument which reaches this conclusion. And this is where the danger lies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Unfortunately, we have become all too used to politicians ignoring the rules they enforce or demand. During the era of COVID-19, accusations of hypocrisy are plentiful and \u2014 usually \u2014 accurate. However, such frequent hypocrisy has cemented the viewpoint that hypocrisy alone is evidence of bad policy \u2014 an illogical and dangerous conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As an extreme example, what if a mayor or governor imposed strict punishments for driving on the wrong side of the road, and then proceeded to be caught driving on the wrong side of the road? Yes, the politician is a hypocrite, but this certainly doesn\u2019t reduce the importance of road safety. However, by the currently growing field of logic, evidence of hypocrisy could be interpreted as evidence of bad policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In other words, with this mentality and an abundant supply of hypocritical politicians, eventually we\u2019ll find ourselves ignoring rules that actually matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>We all know and understand that hypocritical politicians undermine their own positions when they act hypocritically. What they need to understand is that they are playing a dangerous game that goes well beyond the usual abuse of power and influence. If we become used to judging the efficacy and importance of policies based on whether or not politicians follow them, what happens when a policy is necessary, and politicians do what they do best?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Unless politicians understand that their hypocrisy has consequences far beyond the immediate, they will be to blame for the damage that will inevitably ensue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ighaworth\"><em>@ighaworth<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accusations of hypocrisy are perhaps the most reliable feature of any political battle. On a routine basis, both political parties will point to the hypocritical statements or actions of their &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893521,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}