Is that all?

No, not by a long shot. You really didn't think that was all I had to say about that, did you? I didn't think so.

You might have noticed that a word popped up more than once in the last post, and it's really the theme of this one: hypocrisy. It's one of our taken-for-granted concepts. Everybody believes they know what it means, and it's one of those that, oddly enough, only ever applies to other people, never to ourselves. The moment you find yourself thinking just that, it might be time to stop and reassess.

There's a lot of little things that fit into the scheme here. Did you ever notice that other people get paid way too much for what they do, and we never get paid what we're worth? Or, have you noticed lately that only poor people who get assistance from the government are moochers, but when the well-off receive it, it's a necessary subsidy? Or, what about those folks who rail against entitlements but take their own Social Security checks to the bank every month and ride to their Tea Party protests on scooters paid for by Medicare? I could go on, of course, but why beat a dead horse? None of that applies to any of us.

If asked directly, all of us will say that we're all for freedom and liberty, but if pushed just a little, you'll find that every one of these liberty-lovers isn't so keen on having Nazis around, or perhaps they think that our society has become promiscuous or degenerate because others have decided on a lifestyle different from our own. And, of course, anyone on the street protesting, well, talk about too much time on your hands: why don't these people go get a job and stop asking for a handout?

All of these ways of thinking are simply hypocritical. We're right; others are wrong. We know our limits; others are just takers. Truth be told, we're no different than anyone else. What most of you don't know - or maybe what you're simply not aware of - is the fact that if you do not stand up and speak out against the injustices that are inflicted on others each and every day, if you simply remain silent because you don't think it's your problem or you (even worse) don't want to get involved, then you are every bit as guilty as those who actually do the deeds. Need I remind you: silence is assent. By allowing it to happen, by not speaking out against it, you are, at least tacitly, supporting it.

Silence has its price. Looking the other way has its price. For the more religiously inclined among you, there are sins of commission and sins of omission. You can be guilty for doing something, but it's almost worse to know that others are being dealt with unjustly and to be silent.

If you've never thought of it this way, you need to start.