Hypocrite

I see this word being thrown around a lot these days, and I find it's use funny. Funny as in odd, like "it smells funny". Of course, the Mark Foley thing. The Ted Haggard thing. The John Kerry Thing... Wait, what's that? John Kerry, how so?
I know he didn't intend to insult our troops. However, I think making fun of someone's intellect, some one with the same ivy league education you have, and then omitting the one word that could take you from presidential hopeful to presidential "I-don't-think-so" pretty much makes you a hypocrite. It's like the pot calling the kettle black by using a racial slur. This poorly written and even more poorly (if possible) delivered poke at President Bush has been compared to the legendary "Dean Scream" as the stupidest way ever to end a political ambition. Not to mention that it implies little respect of the office he so badly wanted to occupy.

So, why so hard on Kerry? To make a point on hypocrisy, which is that we are ALL hypocrites. And don't lie to yourself (you can't lie to me personally unless you were to email platypibri at gmail dot com), you are a hypocrite. Unless you are a web crawler scanning my site, you are human, and as such you have made mistakes, and you have certainly compromised your morals. I don't care if you kept change that wasn't yours, slept with your friends girl, or just indulged in some excessive speed on a rare moment of uncluttered freeway. You have done yourself and others wrong. And if that doesn't drive it home for you, you have to know you have done things you don't want your kids, or future kids, doing. Hypocrite.

So, now that I've arranged my palette, here's my point. Hypocrite is one of those words, like racist, that is all too often used negate the merits of an opponent's view point. Calling someone a hypocrite means "I can safely dismiss your argument, and refuse it's moral impact on me." So, I'm going to get real vulnerable, to drive my point home.

For a couple of years just before I met my wife, I was desperately lonely. I despaired. I cannot remember a lower point in my life. My only social life was internet chat, which I spent hours doing, sometimes going to work having not slept. Having already had a long distance "relationship" that was supplemented by chat, it already felt somewhat natural to pursue romantic feelings online. Now, online, because it is by nature impersonal and artificial, the pace of online relationships is dramatically accelerated. And as ridiculous as it sounds, people date, go steady, pronounce a "chat marriage" and get a "chat divorce" In a matter of a month. Sometimes days. And what else does a "married" couple do, but engage in "cyber-sex" which will often evolve into phone sex, both of these supplemented by porn in an attempt to emulate the real feelings of a healthy human relationship. And as it is inherently unsatisfying, there is pressure to try more and different situations in pursuit of feeling.

Yes, I confess I lived this lifestyle for a while. I knew it wasn't healthy. I knew it was still debauchery, even if it was "cyber-debauchery". By grace I stopped myself before I downloaded and viewed anything illegal. No, I take that back. I did not stop myself, I was delivered from it. But, man, I walked to the edge and peeked over. So, now I'm a hypocrite, because I'm telling you that this life I lived is wrong. It's unreal, and unhealthy. The lack of satisfaction will drive you ever onward, like a junkie trying to reproduce that first high. And you'll never get that high again. So you go lower and lower. People fall to this stuff daily, ruining their lives spending whole paychecks on porn chasing that impossible desire. People destroy their families pursuing transient, artificial relationships rather than working on the real ones.

And I'm a hypocrite, because like a monkey on my back, internet porn whispers in my ear all the time. I use safe search on Google. I've taught my wife how to check up on me, and encouraged her to do so. I have to say no to it daily. Sometimes hourly. And because I have the audacity to "preach" to people about the danger, the evil, the life destroying poison that is internet porn, I'm a hypocrite. And I'll STAY A HYPOCRITE forever, for there is the slightest hope I can steer even ONE person away from the horror of porn addiction.

Pastor Ted Haggard believes homosexuality and drugs can ruin your life. The fact that he became a hypocrite and proved that point does not erase the truth of it. I'm sure he believes it now more than ever.

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And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

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