What
better way to understand a word than to study its definition? Or isn’t it said
that when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable?
Anyhow,
I’m writing on hypocrisy today, and even though I’m fairly certain that I know
what it means, I’ve decided to look for the dictionary meaning anyway.
Hypocrisy
means:
1. A pretense of having a virtuous character,
moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really
possess.
2. A pretense of having some desirable or
publicly approved attitude.
3. An act or instance of hypocrisy.
With the three
definitions above, the most recurring word is ‘pretense.’ To simplify it then,
hypocrisy means pretense.
Funny! I believe that
everybody pretends or puts up an act one way or the other, so are we all
hypocrites?
Some people might even
take up arms against me and claim that they do not pretend, but it’s not an
argument worth having; everybody pretends!
The best way to live
life is to be yourself, but a friend of mine once made an observation that it
doesn’t always pay to be yourself! There are instances when a person will have
to act more composed or ‘tushed’ to fit into their present environment.
After all, you
wouldn’t act the same way you act with your wife with your boss at the office.
You may be an outspoken person by nature, but there will be times when you will
need to leash yourself and act reserved.
When you get to a new
place, there is usually a period of acclimatization whereby you keep your real
self under the surface and study the people and things around you before
unveiling the real you.
Now, I regard all
these as normal. What I find abnormal, nauseating and annoying is the extent to
which some people practice hypocrisy. It is manifested in different forms and
most times it is despicable because it is often meant to demean another person.
I have never understood it!
I remember sometime
ago when I was walking with a friend on campus. We sighted a classmate of ours
who we didn’t talk to much coming in the opposite direction. The guy didn’t see
us, but my friend called out to him and greeted him with broad smiles. Of
course, I thought that my friend was happy to see the guy. But hardly had the
guy moved on than my friend hissed and called the guy a thief. He told me that
the guy was caught stealing in his hostel the night before and as such, he was
going to be avoiding the him. My mouth dropped open as if I was seeing extra
terrestrial life forms in HD.
“You want to avoid
him, yet you called out to him even when he didn’t see you. How does that make
any sense,” I asked.
My friend laughed and
explained to me that he was just being diplomatic, and that he didn’t just want
to ‘free’ the guy like that. Hmmm……
I know some people may
see some warped logic in that scenario but I just feel it’s pointless.
If you feel a certain
way towards a person, you should be man/woman enough to be upfront with the
person concerned as to where your feelings lie. That way there wouldn’t be any
assumptions by both parties.
Sadly however, a lot
of us are like that my friend. Or even worse!
We have perfected
hypocrisy so much that it has become an art form.
A lot of people go to
church and mosques but are morally bankrupt. Sometimes, I reason that if we
spend half the time we spend on pretending to be holy to actually be holy, then
Nigeria would be a paradise here on earth. Or isn’t the paradox so obviously
puerile? Come on, who are we kidding. We all act so religious, yet the
corruption indices in our country has never been higher!
A lot of people will
hide blood in their mouth and spit out snow white saliva. Some will laugh
heartily with you but the instant you turn your back, they will begin to plot
how they will kill you or bring you down.
The heart of man is
despicably wicked, even the Bible says that much. You can only know who you
love and not who loves you. Even your closest friends might be your worst
enemies. A smile is supposed to convey trust, a bond and acceptance, but often
smiles are used to disguise vile intentions. Some people will spend time in
elaborate greetings with their enemies, all for the sake of putting up an
appearance. Wouldn’t the world be a better place, if you show your enemy
pointedly that you are enemies? No smiles, no chit-chat!
Many people go to school and pretend to be
civilized and educated, when truly they are tribalistic, irrational savages.
Plenty go to church and act all pious when just beyond their façade of meek
humility lies egoistic, arrogant, dishonest, wicked, selfish and cruel
personalities.
Not a lot of people
speak the truth any more, and therein lies one of our greatest problems in this
country. A lot of people are closet critics and analysts. When they are in the
comfort of their homes with family and friends, they would itemize the flaws of
the government and list ways by which they believe the problems could be
rectified. They would rave and rant about how they had imbeciles for leaders. But when this same set of people get to forums
or other public places, where their voices should be heard, they will smile
like cowards and pretend that all is well.
A lot of our musicians
are hypocrites. Many of them sing about what they cannot dream of doing even in
ten lifetimes added together. Some of them claim to be Fela’s disciples, but
the only thing they mimic is his style of clothing when they know it will help them
sell more records. How many of them are engaged in continuous constructive
criticisms of our bereft leaders? I can count them on the fingers of one hand!
Even our Pastors and
Imams are not left out! Some of them are professional hypocrites who hide under
the garb of diplomacy to hide their spinelessness. Not many of them have the
courage to speak the truth!
Like I stated earlier,
I believe that hypocrisy is what has made the sore called corruption to fester
so badly in our lives. We need to start being real and straight forward as a
people.
 |
| Hypocrisy meter |
Stop the bloody
pretense!
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