Integrity

:: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN APRIL 20th AND i BLOCKED IT OUT. SINCE I THINK THE CASE COULD BE OF USE FOR PEOPLE OUT THERE, I'M RELEASING IT AGAIN::

Something awful happened today. Well, maybe "awful" isn't the right way to describe it, because it's more a matter of "deep disappointment", but the way I feel it in my heart is as "awful". As usual, names are not the actual names, because even if I am mad as Hell, I'll try to protect people in my life. However, I will be giving some details that might make it very easy to identify people, but those are important. So, if you know who am I talking about, don't go sending them hate. Instead send them love, because clearly they need it.

So, the thing is that I was talking to his friend of mine who lives in Hungary. Let's call him... Tivadár (Hungarians assign a name or more name for each day of the year, so I'm using today's name). We were aimlessly talking about a whole arrange of things, until at one point I made a comment that had a political undertone. We have different political views, and in the past I have made similar comments, but it was nothing major. Now, to put you in the picture, I am more of a central-leftish, or a "liberal", in today's terms. He is a "conservative" though mostly a "nationalist". So, I made this comment - kind of on the line of hinting on the oppressive stance of the current Hungarian government over press freedom - when he launched into relating to me a story that an alleged acquintance of his, who is not politically motivated (notice the framing to give validity to the story), about a series of awful, alleged things that happen in Germany due to the refugees they've received. The story he shared was quite extreme, to the point of falling into unrealistic levels, pandering unadulterated hate-speech against refugees, and particularly these refugees. I will not repeat the story because it was hateful in extreme and I do not feel comfortable forwarding unverified stories, particularly some like these.

I could hardly let him finish his story because of the abhorrent things he was saying and how he was saying them. I must admit I went very, very mad. And yet Tivadár went on, speaking ill of the German government, claiming the story wasn't heard of at all (well, isn't that convenient) because they were covering the story, hushing the media, and yet did nothing to stop the situation.

Source: Wikipedia

I was livid and fuming. I want you to understand something: Tivadár's story was hate-speech in that it was told with the aim of explaining why refugees should not be allowed to enter the country. It was aimed to paint refugees as malevolent people, criminals, unredeemable human beings that have no place in western countries. It was also aimed to slur on Germany for receiving them. At this point, it's important to tell you that Tivadár is a preacher. Sunday after Sunday, he climbs the pulpit of his church and preaches to people about God's Love. When I threw on his face the intrinsical hypocrisy of this, he got offended and said that it was a low blow to bring his profession into the discussion. Is it?

For me this is a question of integrity. My life may have many areas and I may take part in many different activities, and some of them might be or seem contradictory. Something I can think of, for instance, is people that like BDSM literature, art or movies, but don't like it in their sexlife. Or being vegan and working at an Argentinian restaurant that serves loads of meat. Jokes often offer also small escapes for things that may or may not be contradictory with other parts of life. However, there are things that need to have coherence, things that answer to the same driving principal. Elements that are shaped by our values. I do find it wrong if an accountant takes active part of fraud, or condon it in any shape or form. I find it wrong if a lawyer seeks to break the law. For me, these are acts of hypocrisy, these show a gaping lack of integrity.

In the case of priests and preachers, well, they have chosen a path that intertwines the personal conduct and the professional, the speeches at work with the personal opinion so deeply, that their requirement of integrity is higher. Or is it that you love your fellows only when on the pulpit, and God loves everybody when in church, but once you step down you rather have millions of poeple die in wars, small children die while escaping, because "they are not like us", and you don't want to help them?

This is unacceptable to me.