Everyone is a hypocrite. From your typical politicians and media outlets to the average KAIST student just struggling to get by, we all commit the “sin” of hypocrisy to some degree every day. Hypocrisy in politics is perhaps the most obvious — and blatant — of all. A politician encourages the public to remain home due to COVID-19 but secretly dines at a luxury restaurant outside; another claims that he is a feminist but is later caught sexually harassing an employee. The media is also complicit. Right-wing and left-wing media outlets advertise impartiality, yet carefully exaggerate and omit select parts of their broadcast to push certain agendas.

The widely broadcasted hypocrisy of the rich and powerful, however, does not make us any less hypocritical ourselves. Admit it, many of us frowned upon the travel log of coronavirus patients, questioning, “ugh such irresponsible people, why were they at so many different places?” But, when we ourselves go out to crowded places, we shield ourselves with justifications such as “I’m being careful by wearing a mask” or “this visit is necessary”. Even our more innocuous day-to-day rituals are hypocritical. We complain about how someone is gossiping about us when we are gossiping about them in that very conversation. We complain about having little time for assignments when we have seven YouTube tabs open with Discord running in the background. We complain about not understanding course material when in fact it is because we dozed off during a 9 a.m. lecture (use of “we” employed to de-emphasize author’s involvement in such hypocrisies).

If hypocrisy is so prevalent, then why is hypocrisy often more damning than your average misdemeanor (like a lie)? It may be because hypocrisy is not just a single misdemeanor; when you call out hypocrisy, you essentially are unraveling multiple layers of wrongdoing. First, the deception. When a hypocrite advocates for something, the hypocrite is implying he or she is acting on that very belief, which is not true. This is similar to a lie — and we don’t like liars. Second, antagonizing others, or karma. An act of hypocrisy often involves criticizing someone else for failing to meet a certain standard. So obviously when the lie is revealed, the hypocrite burdens the extra toll of bringing in someone else to the whole fiasco. Third, a battle between beliefs. This is not always the case, but when someone calls out hypocrisy, the person often has values opposite to that of the hypocrite. Therefore, the criticism towards the hypocrite will be seasoned with extra spite and antagonism.

Then why can’t we get rid of hypocrisy? Well, why can’t we get rid of mosquitoes, or murder? Imagine a world where everyone called out anyone who committed even the smallest instance of hypocrisy. Society would be a spiral of criticism, conflict, and disagreement on the very state of normalcy we take for granted. It would be like telling everyone to always walk in a straight line, or always blink in strict five-second intervals — it simply wouldn’t work. We humans are just designed to be a little more lenient on ourselves and justify our mistakes, mostly because it helps us sleep better at night. Hypocrisy is a culmination of our biological wiring, and reading one article cannot undo it.

But what we can change is our attitude on the important things. Don’t be a hypocrite on the things that really matter — such as politics. Do you complain about the government but don’t vote? Hypocrite! Don’t do that. If you are dealing with situations that can leave visible consequences on yourself, your friends and family, and society, it is best to maintain a clear moral standard and act according to your beliefs. The line between the acceptable kind of hypocrisy and the mean-faced, cut-ties-to-your-friends-and-family kind of hypocrisy is probably thinner than you think — and boy you don’t want to mess with the latter.