Home
In this issue

Nov, 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov, 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

Oct. 31, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence

Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush

Oct. 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?

Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot

Oct. 29, 2008

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!

Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President

Oct. 28, 2008

Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?

Oct. 27, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?

Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote

Oct. 24, 2008

'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman

Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle

Oct. 23, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent

Oct. 20, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah

Jonathan Tobin: Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free

Oct. 17, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown

Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law

Oct. 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?

Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 5, 2006 / 13 Tishrei 5767

Where hypocrisy is a greater sin than the transgression itself

By James Lileks


Printer Friendly Version
Email this article


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Mark Foley's plummet from power is comforting in a way — it's nice to know there are some standards left.


He can't hold a press conference, say ``This is my truth! I am a Pervy-American,'' and end up on Oprah promoting his book ``I M So Sorry.'' No slack gets cut for the old goats who fiddle with the underage help. Rep. Foley acted crazily; he put the ``loco'' in ``in loco parentis,'' and now his lawmaking career is over.


He has followed the usual script — the apologetic farewell followed promptly by a visit to a treatment facility, thereby insinuating that Demon Rum was behind the indiscretions. But alcohol doesn't make you do things you don't want to do; it gives you permission to do things you keep yourself from doing. It's not like Mel Gibson showed up at a synagogue nine sheets to the wind asking if he could convert.


Resignation ends the story, right? Hah! This is Washington, where people can make political hay about anything. (Except hay-subsidy earmarks; there's a gentlemen's agreement to leave those alone.)


Some predict the Foley mess will kill the GOP's chances to hold the House; if so, that suggests that the voters, as many suspect, are just making it up as they go along. They'd vote GOP because gas prices came down — as if Speaker Dennis Hastert personally brought in a gusher — but they'd vote Dem because the other side had an ooky perv in its ranks.


Of course it's different if the House leadership knew the sordid details and did nothing, but that's unlikely. It's one thing to say ``Boys will be boys,'' but it's another when there's an actual boy involved.


Does this say anything about conservative ideas in general? Yes! All Rethuglicans are seething, twisted sickos who use morality to shroud their chancrous nature! Right. Sure. You see that brand of logic on the right as well, and it's natural; partisans can't resist the delicious temptation to link private behavior to the legitimacy of the ideas put forth by the miscreant.


But it's not that simple. You might say that taxes are theft, but if a liberal politician swiped money from an orphans' fund, it doesn't prove that liberalism is predicated on theft, nor invalidate established constitutional opinions about the income tax.


Likewise, when someone who has bleated long and loud about the need for high moral standards gets caught engaging in keyboard-assisted frottage, it does not mean that there are no high moral standards. It means that in addition to his other failings, he's a hypocrite.


There are worse sins.


None so juicy, though. Nothing relieves our own throbbing consciences like the exposure of hypocrisy in high places, but this doesn't reflect well on us. Indignation over hypocrisy is an adolescent emotion. It supposes no one should honor a higher ideal in words unless one follows it in every deed; it holds out hypocrisy as a sin greater than the actual transgression.


Many on the left, for example, grind their teeth at the mention of ``family values'' because they think it really means Promise Keepers in feed-store caps beating their pregnant wives with Bibles, or happy, shiny people who always keep a sack of rocks handy in case it becomes legal to stone gays. ``Family values'' is a rather indistinct concept, and even the people who use the phrase don't quite know what it means, but let one Republican be caught in a motel getting paddled by a bored call girl dressed up like a U.N. peacekeeper, and the cawing begins: So much for family values!


Just because some people fail to live up to particular ideas doesn't mean those ideas aren't important. Getting caught doing something you said was wrong doesn't mean it's really right.


We're all fallible mortals down here, but that doesn't mean no one can offer opinions about how we best might live. There are higher ideals that transcend the clay-footed stumblings of the people who speak in their name. A qualified hurrah for hypocrisy, then.


None of this applies to Rep. Foley, incidentally. Creep.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor James Lileks is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Comment by clicking here.

ARCHIVES


© 2006, James Lileks

Insight (Our Columnists)

 Mitch Albom
 Michael Barone
  Dave Barry
 Tony Blankley
 Andy Borowitz
 David Broder
 Stratfor Briefing
 Mona Charen
 Linda Chavez
 Ann Coulter
 Greg Crosby
 Rod Dreher
 Larry Elder
 Suzanne Fields
 John Fund
 Frank J. Gaffney
 Lloyd Garver
 Jonah Goldberg
 Julia Gorin
 Jonathan Gurwitz
 Paul Greenberg
 Victor Davis Hanson
 Betsy Hart
 David Harsanyi
 Nat Hentoff
 David Horowitz
 Laura Ingraham
 Jeff Jacoby
 Paul Johnson
 Jack Kelly
 James Klurfeld
 Ed Koch
 Ch. Krauthammer
 Jonathan Last
 Michael Ledeen
 John Leo
 David Limbaugh
 Kathryn Lopez
 Rich Lowry
 Michelle Malkin
 Jackie Mason
 The Medicine Men
 Dick Morris
 Bill O'Reilly
 Clarence Page
 Kathleen Parker
 Dennis Prager
 Wesley Pruden
 Tom Purcell
 Jonathan Rauch
 Celia Rivenbark
 Robert Robb
 Cokie & Steve Roberts
 Pat Sajak
 Debra J. Saunders
 Culture Shlock
 Roger Simon
 Michael Smerconish
 Thomas Sowell
 Mark Steyn
 John Stossel
 Cal Thomas
 Jonathan Tobin
 Bob Tyrrell
 Diana West
 Dave Weinbaum
 George Will
 Walter Williams
 Mort Zuckerman

'Toons
 Robert Arial
 Chuck Asay
 Chip Bok
 Dry Bones
  Lisa Benson
 John Branch
 Gary Brookins
 John Cole
 J. D. Crowe
 John Deering
 Brian Duffy
 Everything's Relative
 Mallard Fillmore
 Jake Fuller
 Bob Gorrel
 Joe Heller
 David Hitch
 Jerry Holber
 Steve Kelley
 Jeff Koterba
 Dick Locher
 Chan Lowe
 Ranan R. Lurie
 Jimmy Margulies
 Rick McKee
 Michael Ramirez
 Jeff Stahler
 Danna Summers
 John Trever
 Gary Varvel
 Kirk Walters

Lifestyles
 How 2
 Lori Borgman
 The Savvy Consumer
 Elder matters
 Fixit
 Dr. Peter Gott
 Marybeth Hicks
 GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
 Richard Lederer
 Tech Maven
 Nutrition Myths
 Bruce Williams
 How Stuff Works