What’s Good for Me Should Be Good for You
The old line, “Do as I say—not as I do” epitomizes the hypocrisy that our generation faces. How can one be expected to obey rules from a superior if the superior fails to back their words up with actions themselves? Leading without setting an example has a negative effect on society. It undermines important aspects of society such as religion, laws, and authority. From the borders of our country, the streets of our city, to the halls of our school, we face hypocrisy every day.
Around the world, people struggle with similar situations to this one. In 1979, a ten-year-old student at St. Joan of Arc in Hershey was sexually abused by Reverend Timothy Sperber. A reverend is a member of the Christian church. Ironic right? Someone under the influence of religion abusing its meaning and purpose. People go to churches for moral guidance, and safety. How can one be expected to feel safe going to church when there are over 300 reports of church leaders accused of child sex abuse? This victim’s story demonstrates hypocrisy of a horrible person. Unfortunately, this is just one of many victims’ stories. The ten-year-old wasn’t doing well in math so she was sent to Sperber to get tutored. During the time he was supposed to be helping her, he rubbed her hand, took off her shirt, and fondled her breasts. When her back was turned she felt something unusual rubbing against her skin. She remembered feeling like something sticky was on her back for the rest of the day. She still wasn’t doing well in math so she was sent back to Sperber even after the victim told the principal that he touched her in weird ways. The principal became angry and scolded, “How dare you make these terrible accusations? You are a demon-child.” The victim tried to talk to her mother about it but her response was similar, “We’re not going to talk about this. I don’t want anyone thinking that this was our fault.” The ten-year-old “demon child” had no voice, no one to help her through the trauma. As the years passed, when she was finally old enough to speak up for herself there was nothing that could be done about the harassment. This was due to the law of Statue of Limitations.
Statute of Limitations is the set of the maximum time after an event when legal proceedings may be initiated. Statute of Limitations prohibits victims’ voices from being heard. It’s understanding that laws set boundaries and rules to make society function and provide safety. But forbidding a victim from charging someone with a crime beyond a specific time is not right, especially in cases like the 1979 incident with the reverend. It’s unjustified that he was not punished for what he did to the ten-year old girl. Relating to hypocrisy, the reverend sinned and there were no consequences through the church. The victim was too young to speak up for herself, she never got the chance to get justice.
At the national level, the president of the United States preaches to “Make America Great Again.” To campaign this, he has released merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, mugs, stickers, etc. quoting his motto. The funny thing is, where were most of these items manufactured? If you’re thinking America, you’ve been fooled. His brand line of merchandise is manufactured in countries overseas in places like China and Bangladesh. Even though our president Donald Trump repeatedly accuses China of stealing manufacturing jobs from the U.S., he admitted that his brand line of clothes, hats, etc. were in fact manufactured in China. How can the entire population of the USA be expected to “Make America Great Again” while the one enforcing it uses another country to brand is motto? As a representative of the country or even something as small as a diner on the street corner, it’s embarrassing to yourself and
the people you’re leading to be caught in a hypocritical lie. In President Trumps case, he’s only starting with something as little as his products being made overseas, but this can become so much bigger. That is why you should always stay true to yourself and your words. You can easily get yourself caught in a situation where your authority is being questioned.
In the learning atmosphere, authority is constantly questioned. The majority of the time it’s the students versus the teacher. Can we blame hypocrisy? Some students think yes. The Duval County District policy on unauthorized use of wireless communication devices or cell phones states, “Possession of a wireless communication device is not a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. However, it is in violation of the Code of Student Conduct when the possession of a wireless communication device disrupts the educational process.” Even though the “STUDENT” Code of Conduct enforces the “No Cell Bell to Bell” policy, it’s still up to the teacher to lead by example. A Sophomore who requested to remain anonymous said, “Some teachers are so hypocritical. Once my teacher told me to put away my phone, then pulled his cell out and started laughing! He said, “sorry my buddy sent me something,” well, my “bud” sent me something too!” It’s only right that both students and teachers refrain from using cell phones during instructional time. Sophomore Breahna Hardwick shares that situations like this make her think, “why do I have to do it if you don’t do it yourself?” Exact questions like these that run through our classmates’ minds prove that hypocrisy undermines authority.
Hypocrisy even finds its way to follow you home. You may not even realize that when your parent yells at you to stop yelling or tells you to get off your phone and go outside as they’re lying in bed playing candy crush they are being hypocritical. These are only a couple situations children face with hypocrisy every day. Sophomore Breahna Hardwick relates when she said, “My parents are always telling me to do something, be more social, but they’re introverted themselves.” It’s important to always back your words up with equivalent actions, especially if your setting an example for someone to follow.
The idiom “walk the talk” strictly applies here. It means to act in a way that agrees with the things you say. Hypocrisy causes lack of faith in religions, governments, and education. These are institutions designed to help people in their societies cope with issues, maintain safety, and develop their minds. It also causes a breakdown of barriers between authority and those subject to that authority. We can limit the negativity hypocrisy brings to our society by simply having the mindset; what’s good for me should be good for you too. If you are unable to walk your talks then the value of your words will be lost. You can’t expect someone to follow you if you can’t lead them. So be like the Migos and “walk it like you talk it.”
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