287. Beyond Hypocrisy

It can be frustrating to see someone do something opposite to their earlier actions or stated beliefs. We want the people around us to be consistent. We want to be able to understand their motives and beliefs. We want their actions to be predictable and orderly.

We expect people to be rational and their actions to follow a consistent set of principles. When we discover something that contradicts those principles, we criticize their behaviour. We expect the other to be responsive to our critique, for we feel they ought to value consistency just as we do.

When we point out instances of clear hypocrisy — where actions directly contradict previously demonstrated beliefs — we expect an explanation to be provided and changes to be made. When these are not forthcoming, our frustration increases. We cannot understand how the other is unable to see the problem we are seeing.

But pointing out hypocrisy is the worst kind of criticism. It shifts the focus to mere consistency, rather than concentrating on the goodness (or lack thereof) of the actions themselves. For consistency is irrelevant when it comes to assessing whether or not particular actions are good ones. By focusing on hypocrisy, we waste our energy on petulant critiques that make us feel superior instead of trying to address the causes of wrongdoing.

People act wrongly because they are suffering. We may not be sufficiently sensitive to suffering to notice every occurrence of it, but this does not mean it is not present. We want people to act rationally but they cannot because they are distracted by their own suffering and the desire to escape from it. To defeat wrongdoing, we we must first overcome suffering, and we can only do so through compassionate action.

Furthermore, compassion itself sometimes requires that we act inconsistently. A compassionate response is always attuned to the particular situation and needs of the present moment. What is compassionate today might entirely contradict what was compassionate yesterday.

In the end, it is our desire for perfect consistency that must be met with skepticism. Like any desire, attachment to it will produce suffering. By attempting to fulfill it, we become distracted from what is needed and we end up perpetuating the very suffering we need to overcome.