Everyone claims to have some values and ethics. These values may come from family, culture, religion, or personal experiences, no matter what the source is, we all claim to have some values and stand by them. We also have our politics, we either support or oppose certain policies, some of us are openly aligned with a certain political party, and some are independent but are close to either liberal or conservative ideas. Irrespective of our politics, we claim that our political choices align with our values. After all, politics, especially in today's world, is omnipresent. However, it is easy to have values but it's not easy to stand by them when tested. Many of us are willing to compromise or dump our values when it doesn't suit us politically, exposing our hypocrisy. This is abundantly clear during this election in the US, and to make it clear, the US voters are not the exception, this is what happens in most places where you see some questionable candidates getting traction, hate, and divisiveness resulting in political dividends, it's not the politician, it's our hypocrisy that's must be blamed. When we compromise on values, especially for political convenience or out of tribal loyalty, it weakens our claim that we hold any real principles.
For me, alignment with values and politics is not that complicated, rather, I find it necessary to align personal values with political choices. In today’s politically charged environment, where politics is intertwined with every aspect of society, the disconnect between what people claim to stand for and whom they support becomes glaringly evident. Nothing exposes our hypocrisy more than our politics.
If someone claims to support women’s rights, constitutional integrity, or ethical leadership, but then endorses a candidate or party that actively undermines those values, their claims are false and they do not care about any of these things. It’s easy to profess values when they’re not being tested, but the true measure of integrity is whether one holds firm to those values when it's politically inconvenient or challenging to do so. Supporting a candidate or party that contradicts one’s professed values without holding them accountable reveals a fundamental gap between what we say and what we actually support. For example, if I claim to support women's rights, and then I extend my support to a candidate or party who does not care about women's reproductive rights, then my claim is not only false but I also support abrogation of women's personal rights; if I claim to support constitutional integrity including the independent functioning of various branches of government but support a candidate who attacks these values and demands personal loyalty rather than personal accountability, then, my claims are false and I support weakening the independence of various government branches by violating the constitutional values; if I claim to be against sexual harassment but extend my support to a candidate who openly says derogatory stuff about women and claims to sexually harass women, then, my claim of supporting women's rights is false and I also support that candidate's obnoxious behavior. The list can go on, but I think the readers understand what I am trying to argue. If we claim to have certain values, we need to stand by them and demand accountability when we see those values being violated. If not, we do not have any right to claim to possess those values, they are nothing more than hollow statements. This is directly related to one of the most dangerous justifications we see in modern politics: the “lesser of two evils” argument, where people excuse their candidate's harmful actions because "the other side is worse." This rationalization allows for a slippery slope where values are compromised, slowly but steadily until they lose all meaning. It's not the responsibility of the opposing side to demand accountability, but it is the duty of the supporters to raise the standards in politics.
Out hypocrisy is exposed most when we defend the indefensible behavior with selective outrage; when we use our intelligence and smartness to defend the derogatory and offensive actions of the candidate we support; when we criticize the opposition for actions we tolerate in our own side; when we believe blatant lies without verifying them just because it suits our side of the argument. Our politics exposes our hypocrisy more than anything else. So, if you claim to have some values and don't want to be hypocritical, then be careful about who you support and how you defend your political choice. It is not the job of the opponent to ask for accountability, supporters need to do that if we expect any change in the way politics has been conducted so far. It’s not enough to defend a candidate simply because they belong to “our side” while turning a blind eye to their faults. If voters truly care about the values they espouse, they need to look beyond party lines and tribalism, and they must be willing to critique their own side just as harshly as they would the opposition.
If we want politics to change, if we want to rise above the hypocrisy that permeates the system, we must first hold ourselves accountable. Our political choices are personal, but they are also a reflection of the integrity—or lack thereof—behind the values we claim to stand for. In the end, it’s not just about who we vote for, but about whether our choices truly reflect the values we claim to embody. If not, it’s our hypocrisy, not just flawed candidates, that is to blame for the disillusionment in politics today. Remember, nothing exposes our hypocrisy more than our politics, be vigilant to protect your values and please vote.
Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic.
© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment