The Meaning of Hypocrite

Someone called me a hypocrite today because I posted a link to Conrado de Quiros' column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

She said that "Isn't it enough that you left the Philippines because you hate the country so much? Given that that's the case, why not just lay off all in constantly condemning the country of your birth. You're such a hypocrite!"

She called me a hypocrite. No, I'm not a hypocrite. Asshole, maybe. Jerk, sometimes. Dumb ass...come to think of it, my wife calls me that a lot. But no, certainly not a hypocrite.

Let's see now...according to the dictionary, this is the meaning of the word hypocrite.

Hypocrite - a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

So a hypocrite is a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc that he does not actually posses.

Let's see now. Do I pretend be be to be virtuous? No, I try to live a virtuous life. But only a God can be truly virtuous.

Do I pretend to be moral? No, I don't pretend to be moral because I'm not immoral. I try live a moral life. I don't steal, I don't lie, I don't kill nor do I pretend to be pious but then go out and drink, gamble and be with different women.

Do I pretend about my religious beliefs? No. Because I don't pretend to believe something I don't.

Do I pretend to have principles? No, since I already posses it.

In another dictionary, hypocrite means a person who pretends to be what he or she is not.

In the context of the comment about me. The word hypocrite has no basis. I don't pretend to be something I'm not. I don't pretend to be an American, European, Canadian, Chinese, Japanese or Martian and then say something bad about the Philippines. When someone ask me what nationality or what country I came from, I tell them I'm from the Philippines.

I'm not like other Filipinos who say they're Americans because they now live in the US. I say I'm a Filipino.

I speak Filipino fluently and I have no foreign accent. My kumpare is Filipino, my friends are Filipinos, my clients are Filipinos. While I prefer to write in English since my generation was taught English in school, wala akong problema mag sulat sa Pilipino.

I write better in English than in Filipino though. So I'll stick to that.

Her comment about me leaving the Philippines because I hate it so much is also incorrect. I did not leave the Philippines because I hate the country. On the contrary, I love it so much I go back to the Philippines a lot.

I left the country because I'm sick and tired of the system. I cannot live in a system that is corrupt and immoral. I don't want to raise my children thinking that cheating is OK. Remember "I am sorry"?

I also don't want to raise my children thinking that bribery is a way of life nor spending $20,000 on lavish dinners while 3 million people are starving is just business as usual. They didn't even bat an eyelash nor apologized for it. They even felt it was their right.

I left the country because I'm tired of the massive amount of pollution we have. Not only of the air, water and noise, but the pollution of the mind. (Wowowee, S-Files, etc).

Is it right that we see young girls dancing the spaghetti dance?



You may think it's cute, but I don't. We condemn women who dance suggestively on TV, but we find 10 year old girls dancing that cute. That's hypocrisy.

And no, I won't lay off the Philippines. Like I said on my reply. I don't condemn the Philippines the country. I condemn the Philippine politicians and the idiots who run the country. Those are the true hypocrites. They pretend to be virtuous while accepting bribes. Pretend to be angry at the sex video of Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili, but they have a harem of mistresses.

I won't stop writing about those idiots because I care for the Philippines. The day I stop caring about the Philippines is the day I stop writing about the Philippines.