Why do righties expect everyone to adhere to standards that they themselves cannot?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_go_co/gingrich_affair;_ylt=Al1yEwg5Z5nnpTb7PPfZc72yFz4D

Why is it okay to be gay only if you're the VP's daughter, okay to use drugs only if you hide it, okay to have an affair only if you are the speaker of the house and not the president?

Why do the righties set the bar higher than they themselves can reach?

dogsrspcl: how's about everytime you make a wild, apocryphal accusation, you at least provide a link? That way it doesn't look like you're pulling random illusory stuff outta your A.

Richard S: I don't know what the term is for running wild with a story weeks after it has been disproven, but let's call it "Limbaugh-ing." Al Gore buys enough renewable energy to counterbalance anything else he does. It's called "carbon neutral." You guys are mad that a former VP doesn't fly coach?

Moltar Rocks and Bret: Good points. I would counter by saying that punishing humans for not achieving lofty standards is a waste of time.

jesusjoneshall: see dogsrspcl response as to links and not being thought to pull things out of kiester. Ted Kennedy has committed exactly as many vehicular manslaughters as Laura Bush.

Can we do away with pretending that the Clinton impeachment was about anything but embarrassing the president? He was found not guilty, if I remember right, so all that came out of that was a lot of time wasted and a lot of finger wagging- by many people doing the exact same thing- MY POINT EXACTLY.

Answer 1

Having high expectations of personal behavior is a good thing. The fallibility in all humans does not mean that there shouldn't be any standards at all nor that no one should ever try to meet the standards.

Answer 2

The pendulum swings both ways, my friend (pun?).

Mark Foley got what he deserved, but Gerry Studds did not. In 1983, Studds propostitoned several male pages and actually did have sex with a 17-year old page, whom the 46 year old Congressman also took on a trip to Portugal.

I could also counter: why is it OK for Ted Kennedy to kill Mary Jo Kopechne? Patrick Kennedy also mixed drugs with alcohol. We could go back and forth with this kind of useless parry and thrust for days.

Maybe righties set the bar so high because it's nice to have standards when striving for progress, not perfection.

Answer 3

I'm a Conservative, a "Rightie", I suppose (though not a Republican).

1) I think it's just fine to be gay. In fact, 25% of gays themselves claim to be "Conservatives".

2) I NEVER think it's OK to use drugs. Ever.

3) I don't care if anyone else has an affair, although I'd rather our Presidents, if they have affairs, keep it to themselves. they represent our nation, and, I believe, most Americans believe in keeping your word. An affair is a broken word, a broken promise of fidelity.

4) I set no bar higher for anyone else than I myself attempt to attain.

I'm not hard to keep up with, though.

But I'm a "Rightie", and you asked.

Answer 4

Wait a second... Let's look at Al Gore for a second here, easily one of the most recognizable "lefties" out there today. He goes and puts millions, if not billions, of dollars into making his own movie documentary on global warming and how humans are going to be the death of the planet, and organizing protests and concerts and what have you. Then he goes and flies to his next meeting in his private jet, then returns to his huge mansion every so often which uses not one jot less electricity than any other house its size -- if possible, it uses more. His so-called "carbon footprint" is 20 times higher than what he himself recommends for the average person, and his "carbon offsets" aren't really all that effective as he's essentially purchasing them from himself.

Believe me, I would love to go on and on with, say, Hillary Clinton, but I don't feel like it right now. I agree that a lot of conservatives are hypocritical, but that doesn't mean they're the only ones who don't practice what they preach. Thanks for the propaganda, though!

Answer 5

So it's ok for liberal politicians to fight to close the rich/poor gap; yet live in multi million dollar homes and live extremely comfortable lives while not sharing their wealth with the poor they so desperately want to help??

Or the how liberals said Bill Clinton's perjury was a crime not worth sentencing, yet a conservative commits the same crime and JUSTICE needs to be served!

Answer 6

I never heard of any "righty" (that wasn't a religious zealot) say that being gay was wrong...

Drugs? G.W. Bush admitted to using drugs BEFORE he was elected Prez...

Gingrich made a personal decision to have an affair, or wait, maybe it was the same Republicans that decided to destroy the WTC on 9/11 that made him cheat on his wife...

Answer 7

Good question.
The right wing wants other countries to not have nuclear weapons, but we can?
The right wing condemns other countries for preemptively invading others, but we are privileged to do so.
The right wing wants other countries to treat our soldiers humanely, but we have the right to torture theirs?
Expecting others to do as I say while I can do whatever I want is a childish morality, but unfortunately that's what we get from the current administration.

Answer 8

It always has been and always will be with those who claim moral superiority, their own hypocrisy shall be their downfall,I think that so much of today's right would have been the robber barons of the late 1800's, in the 80's we wore shirts that said die yuppie scum, we should have acted on those words for now they have power enough to disrupt a country however fleeting that power may be

Answer 9

Simple. They all don't. Just because we set a high standard for ourselves does not mean we are perfect. And of course, we always have Liberals around to keep us humble.

Would it hurt if Liberals would set some standard of acceptable behavior for themselves to live by?

Answer 10

no. not really but making accusations and pointing at the flaws and foibles of others is a great distraction from their own flaws and foibles. they claim a moral high ground while waist deep in their own sewer effluence, ignoring their own stench.

they work very hard trying to deflect notice from their filth and foul odors by saying "hey! look at that dirty guy over there!".