Of Hypocrites and Sinners
One commonly recurring thread among critics of the Republican Party is that GOPers tend to be moral hypocrites. This is especially true whenever something like the Senator Vitter thing happens, but a lot of people on the left also seem to enjoy pointing out that among the top four Republican Presidential candidates, only Mitt Romney has been married once.
It seems to vex those critics as to how people who have been divorced one or several times can talk truthfully about the sanctity of marriage, for example. There are several possibilities, including the proposition that all GOP voters are such hypocrites, or that GOP voters don't care about their politicians' personal lives as much as they claim. There might be shades of that here and there, as it doesn't seem to be a "values voter" priority right now to slam Giuliani on his marriages. However, I think the most interesting conclusion deals with some of the fundamental intellectual differences between left and right in this country today.
Now I realize I am generalizing more than a little bit, but one of the major difference between GOP and Democratic activists today seems to be the importance of religion. I know there are a lot of religious Democrats out there, and I don't wish them to dismiss them out of hand, but it seems to me that a far greater percentage of "hard Republicans" than "hard Democrats" place religion at the center of their lives.
Specifically, the vast majority of "values voters" are Christians. One of the central tenets of Christianity, as I'm sure most people know, is that Christ came to preach to sinners. He ate with tax collectors, beggars, and "blue collar" workers (Simon and Andrew, at least, seem like the Judean equivalent to dock workers). A central part of Christ's message is that though we are all called to be greater, but we are still sinners. It is just part of human nature. Forgiveness of sins plays a huge role in this.
When this worldview is considered in a political context, it means that "values voters" would be pretty apt to forgive their leaders, provided the regret was sincere and there was an apology. For the Christian, men like David Vitter are not hypocrites, but sinners, just like the rest of us.
Being a hypocrite, according to Merriam-Webster, entails being "a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion." A lot of "values politicians" espouse their faith seriously, I believe, making their less-than-holy actions mistakes, and not hypocritical actions.
It seems to vex those critics as to how people who have been divorced one or several times can talk truthfully about the sanctity of marriage, for example. There are several possibilities, including the proposition that all GOP voters are such hypocrites, or that GOP voters don't care about their politicians' personal lives as much as they claim. There might be shades of that here and there, as it doesn't seem to be a "values voter" priority right now to slam Giuliani on his marriages. However, I think the most interesting conclusion deals with some of the fundamental intellectual differences between left and right in this country today.
Now I realize I am generalizing more than a little bit, but one of the major difference between GOP and Democratic activists today seems to be the importance of religion. I know there are a lot of religious Democrats out there, and I don't wish them to dismiss them out of hand, but it seems to me that a far greater percentage of "hard Republicans" than "hard Democrats" place religion at the center of their lives.
Specifically, the vast majority of "values voters" are Christians. One of the central tenets of Christianity, as I'm sure most people know, is that Christ came to preach to sinners. He ate with tax collectors, beggars, and "blue collar" workers (Simon and Andrew, at least, seem like the Judean equivalent to dock workers). A central part of Christ's message is that though we are all called to be greater, but we are still sinners. It is just part of human nature. Forgiveness of sins plays a huge role in this.
When this worldview is considered in a political context, it means that "values voters" would be pretty apt to forgive their leaders, provided the regret was sincere and there was an apology. For the Christian, men like David Vitter are not hypocrites, but sinners, just like the rest of us.
Being a hypocrite, according to Merriam-Webster, entails being "a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion." A lot of "values politicians" espouse their faith seriously, I believe, making their less-than-holy actions mistakes, and not hypocritical actions.
Labels: Religion
| Permalink | 
