Hypocrisy

In the world today with all the diverse communication technologies at our finger-tips it is all to easy to rush in “where angels fear to tread”, as it were, and shoot off a message without thinking of the consequences. I’ve done it myself, it’s like road rage, an immediate “fight or flight” response – “I’m not going to let that bloke get the better of me”!! kind of thing.

 

Two thousand years ago Hillel the Elder, a Jewish religious leader and scholar who was influential in the development of the Torah, gave expression to the “ethics of reciprocity” or the “Golden Rule”:- 

 

"That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

 

Also which is a natural follow on from the above:-

 

"Do not judge your fellow until you are in his place."

 

Now nothing gets up my nose and irritates me more than hypocrisy. Today hypocrisy is present with religious leaders (of ALL faiths) who profess to follow the “word” of their faith yet who have been guilty of extreme violence, of sexual abuse, paedophilia and other offences against the precepts of their faith. Just think of the businessmen who exploit staff and pay them below recommended wage levels while paying themselves obscenely high salaries; think of businessmen whose sole aim is to please their shareholders at the expense of providing a service to their customers; think of “hackers” who exploit our gullibility for financial benefit but who wouldn’t like to be “hacked” themselves; think of Government leaders who proclaim one policy yet actively work against this for political gain – all contrary to the basic “Golden Rule” that is central to all faiths and an ethical life and which is written somewhere in every sacred text and recommended in every business textbook. 

 

I know that we all fall at some of the hurdles we come across on our journey through Life. I certainly do and I certainly have. But I also, most certainly, try not to make a habit of it.

 

What follows is a quote from the writings of Eusebius (265 – 339 CE) an early Christian cleric and scholar, which I believe is applicable for all people everywhere – particularly other clerics and those who profess to lead. 

 

Difficult I know (maybe impossible) but it is best to aim high!

 

May I be no man’s enemy. 

 

May I be no man’s enemy, and may I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides.

May I never quarrel with those nearest to me, and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly.

May I never devise evil against any man; if any devise evil against me, may I escape uninjured and without the need of hurting him.

May I love, seek, attain only that which is good.

May I wish for all men’s happiness and envy none.

May I never rejoice in the ill fortune of one that has wronged me …

When I have done or said what is wrong, may I never rebuke others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends …

May I win no victory that harms either me or my opponent …

May I reconcile friends who are angry with one another.

May I, to the extent of my power, give all needful help to my friends and all who are in want.

May I never fail a friend who is in danger.

When visiting those in grief may I be able by gentle and healing words to sooth their pain …

May I respect myself.

May I always keep tame that which rages within me …

May I accustom myself to be gentle, and never be angry with people because of circumstances.

May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done, but to know good men and follow in their footsteps.

 

Lying.

Lets start with the simple question: why do people lie? 

The thing is we all lie. I know that. We tell “white” lies to please someone; we lie to get out of trouble – “it wasn’t me, Sir!” And we may lie to serve whatever cause we are promoting.

Sometimes what was written 3000 years ago still has great relevance today. For instance it is reported that Odysseus (he who devised the Trojan Horse that was instrumental in defeating ancient Troy) when asked the question, “Do you not really think it is disgraceful to tell lies?” answered, “No – if safety is what the lie brings”.

What are we to make of that? And whose safety? Safety for the one who lied? 

No one ever likes being lied to – least of all the liar! And I really don’t believe that a person who consistently lies can ever be at ease – they must know that one day they will be caught out. They, metaphorically, must be constantly looking over their shoulder to see how close behind them is “truth”. Likewise no one wants to be known as a liar. Liars will fight tooth and nail to defend their “integrity” and blame others for any falsehoods that may be exposed. This is why liars hate whistleblowers. Whistleblowers generally expose the truth and shine a light on the liar.

But can one ever trust a liar?  

Surely a Democratic Society can only exist if trust (and honesty) is evident? Without trust in government, in financial institutions, in health care, in the judicial system (and institutional religion), I truly believe that society would collapse and chaos would ensue.  As seems to be evident today, however, many people, who should know better, will lie to gain power, pervert justice and pursue the accumulation of wealth (money) that seems to consume their waking moments. In so doing, I believe that, under their feet, such people prepare for themselves a steep inclined plane which propels them down an ever increasing slippery slope, lower and lower into ever more deplorable activities. And more lies. Lies to counteract the original lies.

No matter what legislation is promulgated, laws will never cure cupidity or ethical and moral shortcomings.

Recall that Confucius had this to say about justice and laws some twenty-five centuries ago: 

 “If you govern the people by laws, and keep them in order by penalties, they will avoid the penalties, yet lose their sense of shame. But if you govern them by your moral excellence, and keep them in order by your dutiful conduct, they will retain their sense of shame, and also live up to this standard.” 

Paying the Ferryman

Life is not all doom and gloom. Nor is it always a fun experience. Happiness is elusive. It is necessary to arrive, always, at a balanced position where we are at the very least contented with our lot. 

Helpfulness and co-operation are the cornerstones of any society. We may be individuals each striving for our place in the world and striving to reach our self-determined goals but we can never do this on our own. Even the so called “self-made man” has had help from others along the way – no one can do this in total isolation. 

So what is the cost of ‘life’ to those who strive to reach their self-determined goals? What is the cost of ‘life’ to high achievers? What is the cost of ‘life’ to those people who opt for a career before all else? What is the cost, in lives, of a government’s oppressive or exploitative policies? What is the cost of ignoring the ancient, and very sensible, instruction to always treat others as you would like to be treated?

This proverb still applies: “Take what you want from life says God, take it, and pay!” 

In the present economic climate – even the long “tail” of the Global Financial Crisis is still affecting many people in many countries - it is not surprising that there is widespread concern about employment prospects, wages and financial security. So do not decry or be judgemental about someone’s choice to work as hard as they can to try and secure their financial future by whatever means at hand. That is their call and good luck to them. But they need to be very careful about the methods they use to “secure” their financial future. They must never forget that the Ferryman, who carries us all on our journey through life and across the River Styx to the afterworld, will demand recompense. This payment cannot be avoided and it is always paid in kind – we sow the seeds of the crop we will reap, like it or not. 

We will always have to accept the consequences of our actions and activities (good or bad) – and there are always consequences for every plan, for every activity and all behaviour. It is worth recalling the fate of Lehman Brothers, the ponzi schemes of Bernard Madoff, the greed and unethical behaviour of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKiline, the corrupt practices and fraud exposed by the Wall Street banks, Barclays Bank in the UK, the LIBOR scandal; the ineptitude and plain bad management of many European banks; the false accusations of “weapons of mass destruction” levelled by various politicians leaders against Iraq and the disastrous subsequent invasion of that country; the rotating leaders of Australia’s political parties and their questionable policies towards Australia’s First People; towards asylum seekers -  the list goes on and on and on... 

No one can ever know the full extent of the effects of any action they may take – we will never find any vantage point high enough from which to view the pattern of our life and how the threads interweave to form the patterns we have made – to see what good we do or what harm we have caused. We can never see the interplay between moral values which results in good and evil; in good or bad outcomes. This is why ethics is so important – it must be the first consideration of any person, company or organisation. By engaging in ethical conduct the welfare of people (staff, customers, patients, clients and voters) will be paramount; will be considered, first, before money, market share, first before shareholders, first before the CEO’s or any politician’s ego.

Remember this – burn it into your brain – without people there would be no business, no commerce, no industry and no money. Never forget that commerce and industry are for the benefits of people; that commerce and industry service the needs of people. People do not and never have serviced the needs of commerce and industry. To assume this is the case is to put the cart before the horse; to assume this is to consider people as tokens on some sort of economic game board - tokens to be moved at the behest of commerce and industry. This train of thought will lead only to business disaster and failure and the collapse of government (recall that Soviet Russia tried this and failed spectacularly); the Chinese are experimenting with this right now, to what end? One wonders at the possible outcome.

By being ethical – or at least being guided by ethical principles – will ensure that any business or personal action or activity is being driven by the best motives. To forget or ignore the undoubted fact that every action has a consequence (good or bad), in other words the “Law” of cause and effect, will itself cause problems. This is why there are ethical concepts such as trust, honesty, justice, kindness and compassion. All human actions and activities will have unexpected consequences but much of the unhappiness, the cruelty, the abuses will be minimised if the welfare and wellbeing of other human beings is considered first; by conducting all business and personal matters with ethics as the FIRST consideration. 

We have to live with ourselves and the results of our actions and behaviour. If ethics is disregarded or ignored to satisfy selfish ends the threads that entangle us all in the web of life will, eventually, trip up and bring down the perpetrators. 

The Ferryman is patient but will, eventually, demand payment, regardless. 

The Australian version of Democracy

It is difficult to gauge how democracy is travelling in “democratic” countries. I speak particularly about Australia (where I live) which is touted as one of the strongest democracies in the world.

That I (and my wife) are pensioners (I am 73 and retired only one working day before my 72^nd birthday) and have no income other than the Government provided Age Pension, is incidental to my concerns.

My concerns are about what it is we are forced to vote for (on pain of a penalty for NOT voting).

For those who may be unaware of this curious fact, Australia has compulsory voting –whether you like any of the candidates or not, whether you like their policies or not, whether you like it or not, you have to vote – or face a fine for NOT voting.

I personally am not sure that compulsory voting is actually democratic, but this again is incidental to my concerns.

My concerns are about what we are told (promised?) prior to an election but then are told after the election that what was said is not going happen; that these promises were not “core promises”. What is a “core promise” pray tell? Why bother to say something (“read my lips”) but then conveniently forget or ignore or use “weasel words” to deny that it was said at all?  Surely a promise is a promise in any language?

My concern is about what it is that we are actually forced to vote for – a lie? Is this an example of being a good role model? Is this how leaders are supposed to behave? Is this an open, accountable and “mature Government”? Is this a Government that can be trusted?

Trust takes a long time to develop but can be lost in an instant. To understand what I am getting at it may help to recall what Confucius had to say about this some twenty-five centuries ago:

 “If you govern the people by laws, and keep them in order by penalties, they will avoid the penalties, yet lose their sense of shame. But if you govern them by your moral excellence, and keep them in order by your dutiful conduct, they will retain their sense of shame, and also live up to this standard.”

In light of the astounding lack of trust and moral leadership shown - and admitted – by many leaders (political, business and religious or in fact any position with monetary significance), I truly believe that it is time for everyone to stop, even take a step back and look, I mean really examine, their actions and see whether they make any sense. For example, just look at the corruption, the appalling moral and ethical short comings exposed by the various commissions of enquiry currently underway in Australia (into child sexual abuse and into corrupt union activities). Think about the financial scandals in England and the USA (LIBOR, Wall Street and “banks too big to fail”); the International Olympic games organization (athletes and performance enhancing drugs and also bribes being paid to officials); the International Football Federation (“ditto”); international cycling (“ditto”); international pharmaceutical companies (using corrupt methods to enhance sales of products with doubtful efficacy); using children as slave labour to produce low priced garments - the list just goes on and on and on!   

And then as a further Australian example, I was told in a letter (dated  9^th January 2014) from Malcolm Turnbull ( the Australian Minister for Communications) that, and I quote:-

“I would like to take this opportunity to assure you the Government does not have any current plans to privatise or reduce the ABC’s funding. The Government understands the significant relationship the ABC has with the Australian public and is committed to maintaining its quality, performance and efficiency.”

The ABC is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which is owned and fully funded by the government - but three months later Turnbull cuts hundreds of millions of dollars from their budget allocation (possibly out of spite – the ABC, in the past, has dared to criticize the current government).

And we HAVE to vote for these people? Please!!

I believed Prime Minister, Tony Abbott when he said, before the recent general election, that there would be no changes to the Aged Pension or to Medicare, but there are changes. In light of the 2014 Budget cuts are these the words of a trustworthy man? All the cuts to health and education, and the reductions to benefits and allowances are, ostensibly, designed to “improve the economy” and balance the budget.

The trouble is the “Economy” is not some esoteric, alien “thing” somewhere out there. Without people there would be no economy – the economy IS people, the citizens of this country. The Prime Minister (Tony Abbott) and Treasurer (Joe Hockey) may well “balance the budget”- the Federal Budget - and help the “economy”, but they cannot ignore what the States do because they affect the “economy” as well. We are supposed to be the Commonwealth of Australia after all. But if they, the Treasurer and the Prime Minister, hand-ball the hard work to the States (funding health and education) why do we need a Federal Government – or if you prefer why have State Governments? Having both, singing from different hymn books, does not serve.

If people have less money to spend (because of the afore mentioned budget constraints) how is the economy supposed to grow? It is worth repeating that the economy is made up from people – more money and confidence and it grows; less money and less confidence and it contracts.      

Who do we trust? No wonder there is a rise in the number of independents and micro-parties – if we HAVE to vote might as well vote for something or someone novel.

It is worth asking what we ACTUALLY vote for – what politicians SAY they will do or what they ACTUALLY do – which is discovered only after the event?

And Australians are penalised for not voting. Democracy indeed!

Boat people (illegals) - we treat animals better than this.

Animals on the farm; animals in zoos; animal at home – all are considered with care for their welfare and well-being. The various Animal Welfare organizations see to this and have the force of law behind them. But humans who we consider as “inferior” we treat with no respect, no compassion and with no dignity. Why?

When someone is so diminished that they are no longer considered human what happens? Slaves know that they have some value (they were either purchased by or work for someone who gives them some idea of what they are worth because they produce something of value) – judicial prisoners know that they have recourse to a legal system and generally there is limit to their incarceration; refugees - “boat people” (illegals) - in the Australian context, have nothing.

These people are desperate. To have it indicated to them, in no uncertain fashion by the Australian Government, that they may as well give up hope of  any help, assistance or compassionate regard would be devastating. To be so diminished as to be considered only as counters on a game board to be pushed about from country to country is similar to an annihilation of any ideas they may hold of their worth as human beings.

Again, in the Australian context refugees, “boat people” (illegals) are neither criminals nor are they deemed to have a value – they appear to be “non-people” and the Government wants nothing to do with them.  They are moved “off shore” to desperately poor or to micro-countries that Australia can pay off to accept this Australian “detritus”. They are a nuisance to the Government and should just go away.

This is an abrogation of what is decent; an abrogation of what is right and is neither ethical nor moral and is doing the image of Australia much harm. It is a fact – almost a “Law” that for every cause there is an effect. This cannot be codified, it cannot be quantified or qualified and there is no measure to gauge what the effect may be. But of a certainty there will be an effect and it may not be what anyone expects.

Always – repeat ALWAYS – treat people the way you would like to be treated. There is no other viable option. To act or behave in any other manner is to diminish oneself and a belief in the humanity we are all party to.

How shall we live? Confucius – he say!

We are living in a troubled world, beset by many trials and tribulations and where ethics is in short supply – as has always been the case, I suppose, but with modern communications they seem somewhat compounded and “in your face”, as it were. So this all begs the question – in this Twenty-first Century how are we to live? What should be our collective aims? What is mankind’s purpose?

Some time and quite a few posts ago I wrote about ethics and the conditions and attributes necessary for ethical conduct to occur. I now refer to some old texts to expand on this subject.

In the Analects of Confucius (551 BC to 479 BC)  translated by Simon Leys, there is a quote about the importance, in ancient China, of the notion of the word ‘gentleman’.

“Originally it meant an aristocrat, a member of the social elite: one did not become a gentleman, one could only be born a gentleman. For Confucius, on the contrary, a ‘gentleman’ is a member of the moral elite. It is an ethical quality, achieved by the practice of virtue, and secured through education. Every man should strive for it, even though few may reach it.”

To understand this statement it may help to recall what Confucius had to say about justice and laws some twenty-five centuries ago:

 “If you govern the people by laws, and keep them in order by penalties, they will avoid the penalties, yet lose their sense of shame. But if you govern them by your moral excellence, and keep them in order by your dutiful conduct, they will retain their sense of shame, and also live up to this standard.”

In light of the astounding lack of trust and moral leadership shown - and admitted – by many of today’s leaders, I truly believe that it is time for everyone to stop, even take a step back and look, I mean really examine, their actions and see whether they make any sense.

Take the apparently common scenario: “I am spying on you because I know that you are spying on me but I want my spies to find out what your spies are trying to find out about me because my spies are trying to get the same sort of information about you”, kind of thing.

No one likes being spied on, so why do it? I mean, really, does this make any sense? Is this the way we want to live?? After five million years of human evolution if this is the finest example of all we have achieved, then God help us all!!!

If you are a “Creationist” I ask if this is the finest example of all we have achieved since the days of Adam and Eve??? Again, if it is, then God help us all!!

Just because spying is an age old “game” does not mean that it is the right thing to do; just because “everyone is doing it” does not mean it is the right thing to do; just because everyone is doing it does not make it ethical!!!

So – repeat after me, all together now, “Always treat others the way you would like to be treated - because there is no other viable option!”

We know so little!

My one loyal reader may be wondering where I have been for the last three weeks or so. Well the news is that I and my wife are now on our first ever overseas trip together – after 34 years of marriage! Long overdue you might say, and I would most certainly agree.

Unfortunately Man’s inhumanity to Man is still evident no matter one’s destination! There is no escape. Much of this inhumanity is based on opinionated ignorance. In this regard I read the following piece somewhere (regretfully I cannot remember where): “Help us never to become imprisoned by the things we think we know – because we know so little!”

I think this advice is well worth following. Doing so may go some way to making us more understanding, more humble, generous and compassionate. Remembering how little we know may help bring us up short before we (possibly) forget ethical considerations and involve ourselves in, shall I say, less than charitable activities.

The outrageous levels of intransigence, corruption and abuse apparent in all countries and all institutions (Government, religious and commercial), unfortunately, does not auger well for future stability. The “Rule of the Gun” is everywhere. The appalling level of gun violence in the USA (roughly four times greater than that of any other civilized country) beggars belief.

I have been following the distressing topic of child abuse for some time now, ever since the news broke about levels of abuse in the Protestant churches in all countries where they practice, and in the Catholic Church particularly in America, Ireland and Australia. The appalling and systematic abuse of children carried out by, mainly, males of every religious persuasion; by males of every ethnic type and in every country is breathtaking in its malevolence, scope, variety and level of depravity. 

Why, Oh why, do we humans think that we can do what we like and get away with it? It is almost as if we have adopted the belief that it is OK to do what we like and the only “crime” is to get caught – to have our misdeeds exposed!

If we recalled ethical principles; if we recalled the basic doctrine that, of necessity, what harms you must also harm me (what goes around, comes around!); if we recalled the fundamental fact that we are all human beings and that we all have the same needs – love, nurture, shelter, food and happiness – I am sure there would be much less strife and tribulation and a great deal more happiness in the world.

So I repeat the quote, “Help us never to become imprisoned by the things we think we know – because we know so little!”

Unlikely I admit – but I live in hope!!