In defense of hypocrisy

I should really call this the "silver lining" of hypocrisy, rather than a defense of hypocrisy itself. But it is true that I am mildly encouraged by the fact that we live in a society that includes outrageous hypocrites. Let my explain by illustrating the hypothetical alternatives. As I see it, there are two. 

The first hypothetical hypocrisy-free society is a celestial world in which everyone lives transparently virtuous lives, with Truth understood and every action consistent with that Truth. I hope that you and I will find ourselves in such a society after the Resurrection, thanks to the grace of Christ. But given the nature of mortality I would suggest that my second hypothetical is more plausible. That second alternative to hypocrisy is world of complete relativity. In that world, morality is an aesthetic preference that varies from person to person based on nothing more than internal tastes and desires. 

From this perspective, I prefer to see a state of affairs where hypocrites try to cover their double life and then implode under the weight of outraged voices when their hypocrisy is revealed. Think John Edwards and Mark Sanford as prototypical of the MO of American politics. Yes that is absolutely despicable on a personal level. But it says something good about our society that these men felt a need to cover up their double lives because they knew that everyone else knew that that kind of behavior is despicable. What makes me more nervous is the type of open brazenness more prevalent in Europe for some time, such as a Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn in France, and Boris Johnson in the UK. Donald Trump fits into this mold but was elected by the American people as president of the US, which makes me worry that the US is following Europe in steep moral decline. In this world of aesthetic morality, authenticity is the only virtue - Rousseau, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre have finally won. Sometimes when I am feeling pessimistic I fear we are descending into that gray nightmare. If there are no values, then there can be no hypocrisy. 

But then I see the tragic sadness and outrage accompanying revelations of someone like a Ravi Zacharias or a Jerry Falwell Jr., and I am reminded that a large segment of society still has shared moral values, objective moral values. The fall of a Cardinal McCarrick reminds me that I am not alone in seeing that sin is sin. My faith is not the only one that sees black and white. A large fraction of America still stands together, unified in defending moral values, and unified in mourning the tragic consequences of sin, whether public or private. As we stand together we send a message that values matter, and that only a return to personal morality can restore the public trust.