Naturally a Hypocrite

A common theme that we see in not only books but also on a daily basis: hypocrisy. Although some people don’t like to admit it, we are all hypocritical beings and this fact does not change so simply. In The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick, claims that he is “inclined to reserve all judgements” and therefore, stands out from the rest in a positive way due to his “unique” mindset. We quickly realize a few paragraphs later, however, that he isn’t the person he claims to be. He shares his opinions of his neighbor, Gatsby, and we see that he has not only analyzed Gatsby’s personality but also his surroundings and “predators”. The hypocrisy we see in Nick leads us to think that he is flawed and unreliable, but to be honest, we are all like this; we allow ourselves to judge others without looking into our own hearts to see if we are similar in any way.

I think the reason for our hypocrisy when it comes to judgement is that we like to think we are better people than we actually are. In regards to judging, we naturally exclude ourselves from the conversation even if we are the guiltiest, and continue to evaluate the people around us. In some ways, forming an opinion on something or someone is an immediate reaction, but also, who would want to admit to others that they are guilty of doing something that even they themselves disapprove of?

Although hypocrisy seems foolish, it’s done unknowingly most of the time. We don’t mean to point fingers at others when a finger should be pointed at ourselves too; it’s just something that’s natural and hard to identify and notice by ourselves. Perhaps it is even what makes us human.

The song of the week:

Kygo - Stay ft. Maty Noyes // https://youtu.be/WUG2guLUtuo

The lyrics in the song describe a situation where a person decides to “stay” with her ex and states that the only reason why is because her ex needs her, not the other way around. However, this can be interpreted in many ways. For example, it could be that the girl is trying to deny that she, in fact, needs her ex as well. This is an example of hypocrisy in our daily lives. Make sure to listen and let me know what you think :)