by Ray Newman, radio and television commentator, attorney, educator, author

Saturday, December 5, 2009

WHEN WORDS AND ACTIONS COLLIDE

A comment was made about a celebrity's admitted transgressions that "at least he wasn't being hypocritical"...meaning, he hadn;t privately committed those indiscretions while publicly speaking ou against them. As others have done in the past.

How ironic! The transgressor who speaks out against evil and immorality, with all the possible public benefits of that, is now seen in a worse light, labelled a worse offender, than the transgressor who says nothing. What a reversal!

The lack of integrity in saying one thing and doing another is a personal immorality. It does not promote self esteem or happiness. And, yes, it can make others suspect the validity of what is being said. And therein lies the error: a statement about evil or immorality, the bad, must be objectively determined on its own merits. The realities of the nature of the world are the only proper tools to apply in determining the goodness or badness, the correctness or incorrectness, of what someone says...and they do not include the question as to whether the speaker subjectively acts out his or her pronouncements, has or does not have integrity.

Thomas Jefferson spoke out brilliantly in support of freedom. He is to be forever acclaimed for that and for all of the good his statements engendered. The rightness of his inspiring words is not diminished one iota by the wrongness of his having slaves. Not one miniscule iota.

If only those without any sins may speak out, the world would be a very quiet place indeed.

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