Life’s Double Standard?

It has been my observation that most people are liberal in though and conservative in action. Or to say they are publicly liberal but privately conservative. I consider this a double standard not as stated above but as this:

When a person is publicly liberal and it is discovered they live a conservative leaning life style, then they are considered down to earth, blue collar, one of people. This is then considered a good thing, and these people are praised for being themselves. If however a person projects themselves as conservative and it is then discovered they lead a liberal leaning lifestyle then they are considered as being “caught” as hypocrites for not being themselves. Public scorn usually follows.

The public scorn then turns to the demanding of an apology for not being honest in their projected image. This is considered by most, perhaps a vast majority, to be normal and just.

Even as I write this I realize I too consider this to be “OK”, to be a normal course of action. And yet I wonder why this is so. Why it’s ok to live a conservative lifestyle while projecting one’s self as liberal in thought. And yet so wrong to flip this scenario 180^o in the other direction.

Mind you, I’m not talking about the self-righteous public person who berates those different than himself, while they are in fact, living, privately, this same lifestyle. I think those examples of overt hypocrisy are self-evident. I am talking, in part, about the public person, star, politician, etc. that lets their opinion known to the general public. Why are they held to such a unique standard? Or is it just that when they are accused of such behavior the outcry is louder for them than when it’s a friend or associate whose life becomes known to us.

I refuse to point out individuals for the purpose of example. I believe most of us can think of someone, or situation, where we have been surprised with a contradictory behavior. So, I will leave it up to you to find and make a comparison of sorts. Also, this not a commentary about any one lifestyle, just some thoughts about the way the general public reacts to those lifestyles as stated.

Now I must make a confession, I have no idea what the “why” is in this equation. I do believe it’s definitely worth the time to ponder such a thought. Perhaps someone much more in tune with today’s social climate than I am. And would also be able and willing to express themselves on this matter. It would be nice to hear some varying opinions, my curiosity is certainly peaked.

Blessings all-

by David E. Gonzales

To profane or… (non-religious)

           I have decided to dedicate myself to creating environmentally safe eye and ear zones. Yes, that means actually taking the time to properly articulate an idea or emotion instead of resorting to the use of “shock” terminology. Mind you I have no intention of trying to change the world into following me on my path to spiritual constancy. Only that I am on a personal mission to be a better me. I realize that it is simply easier to use profanity to express oneself than to stop and think through an idea or emotion. For me, this will include not using punctuation in place of foul language or a combination of letters and punctuation to press forward the idea of words that are less than socially proper.

I don’t believe this will be that difficult to accomplish since my propensity to use this type of language is minimal. However, I have been known to allow an occasional word of this nature to land on the ears of an un-expecting soul. It is this that I wish to eliminate from my personal inconsistencies. I do expect that the elimination of soft profanity will be a slightly more difficult to achieve. While some words are not necessarily considered profane, they do lead one to consider them in terms that are coarser than the word itself denotes. Of course this would depend on the context that the word is used.

So while I ask that others respect my desire to keep clear my eyes and ears of less than well articulated speech, I will continue to respect your freedom of speech as long as it is not a deliberate attempt to offend me. Of course, you are welcome to join me in my quest for spiritual constancy.

May peace be with you, along with your ears and eyes.

by David E.Gonzales