hypocrisy essay

Ironically, when Mr. Lavender was talking about "what Meghan would write her essay about" in class, he was kind of correct in his assumption. I do want to write aobut hypocrisy. When we were first assigned this essay, I thought I was going to write about feminism, or the lack thereof, in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's passages about feminism really inspired me, and I was convinced that I would be able to write an interesting and insightful essay about the subject. However, after letting the idea percolate for a while, I was at a loss. I couldn't think of something on the subject of feminism that I wanted to say. So I started to think about other "key themes" within the novel, and the idea of hypocrisy really stuck with me. One of my pet peeves has always been hypcrites (even though I, myself, am very hypocritical at times). The passage in The Scarlet Letter where Dimmesdale is looking down on Hester, encouraging her to call forth her lover as to convict him, too, even though he WAS the lover was really intense. Just the irony was fascinating. It then lead me to think of other exmaples of hypocrisy in my life. I first thought of Telluride. Telluride prides itself on being an outstandingly openminded and welcoming town. That is, if you agree with them. As a slightly conservative minded Texas chick, I am regularly at odds with the common opinion of Telluride. And while Telluride claims to be so openminded, I found myself regularly persecuted for having different opinions than those of most Telluride residents.
Another example that came to mind was the blatant hypocrisy of many organized religions. I am a follower of the Christian faith, and I've never been shy about that. However, I quick to recognize the multitude of wrongdoings and acts of hypocrisy within the sphere of modern Christianity. As our country continues to struggle for the rights of gay and lesbian couples, many "Christians" protest this with signs saying things along the lines of "God hates fags" and "homos will burn in hell." Things like this literally nauseate me. A passage in the book of 1 Corinthians in the Bible states "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing....these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I am baffled as to how these "Christian" people can read this passage, and yet say that God, who is, in His very essence, love, would hate someone on any occasion.
Yet another exmaple I find within myself. I often say that I am INFURIATED by my mother's inability to remember things and that she cannot stay focused on any one thing at any given time. She is the epitome of an A.D.D. sufferer. And yet, while those traits in her drive me mad, I can often be exactly like her. I have issues focusing on thigns for long periods of time, and I'm often too distracted by my surroundings to remember anything, important or otherwise.
Hypocrisy is all around us. We see examples of on a daily basis. It's the complacency with hypocrisy in our society that I want to write about.