Hypocrisy of the Paranoid

The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity. --Andre Gide

(MANAMA, Bahrain) - Hypocritical behaviour:

*Carry fire in one hand and water in the other. To be duplicitous, to engage in double-dealing; to be two-faced, to speak with forked tongue.

*The expression comes from Plautus; it continues “to bear a stone in one hand, a piece of bread in the other.” Thus, the expression indicates that a person is prepared to act in totally contradictory ways to achieve his purposes.

*Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. To make a great commotion about an insignificant matter while accepting grave faults and injustices without a murmur; to complain vociferously about minor transgressions while committing deplorable offenses.

Paranoia:

The following was taken from Mental Health America:

*Paranoia involves feelings of persecution and an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

*Symptoms of paranoia and paranoid disorders include intense and irrational mistrust or suspicion, which can bring on a sense of rage, hatred, and betrayal.

How do these fit together to add up to Paranoid Hypocrisy? As a simple illustration, think of millions of American gun owners who believe it's necessary to own guns (paranoia), who also refuse to pass laws requiring background checks for would-be gun owners (hypocrisy).

Americans carry a tremendous amount of guilt around with them (paranoia) as they preach moral behaviour. (hypocrisy) Constant reminders of the holocaust during WWII are designed to keep six million victims of German camps firmly in the minds of all.

Here's a fitting scene from Joseph Heller's Catch-22:

“Who's they?" He wanted to know. "Who, specifically, do you think is trying to murder you?"

"Every one of them," Yossarian told him.

"Every one of whom?"

"Every one of whom do you think?"

"I haven't any idea."

"Then how do you know they aren't?"

"Because..." Clevinger sputtered, and turned speechless with frustration.

Clevinger really thought he was right, but Yossarian had proof, because strangers he didn't know shot at him with cannons every time he flew up into the air to drop bombs on them, and it wasn't funny at all.”

And so it was when I was a pre-teen, going to bed after watching a cowboy and Indian film. My Indians are the Palestinians who now haunt Israeli nights.

The Israeli's have played very effectively on American guilt over the colonization of Indian Territory. How could an American honestly criticise Israeli settlements? How could Americans forget or bury their colonial history?

It's a similar problem with the recent kafuffle over sarin gas. Al-Assad’s government built up their gas response to Israeli nuclear bombs.

Who was responsible for the yet unidentified user of sarin gas in Syria? Who benefits? Certainly not the Syrian government!

Give a moment's thought to the absurdity of America taking a holier-than-thou stance on the use of WMDs of any kind.

The US is the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons against another country while destroying Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

In Iraq, it was America again who gave banned gas for Iraq to use against Iranians and their own people.

America’s use of depleted uranium has left hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children with deformities.

The only other country to use horrible weapons has been Israel, using phosphorous bombs that burn holes through women, children and elderly civilians.

Tacitus said "If you would know who controls you see who you may not criticise.” You may not criticise the US military, arms manufacturers, or Israel.

Throughout his life as an educator, Dr. Paul J. Balles, a retired American university professor and freelance writer, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 40 years - first as an English professor (Universities of Kuwait and Bahrain), and for the past ten years as a writer, editor and editorial consultant.

He’s a weekly Op-Ed columnist for the GULF DAILY NEWS . Dr. Balles is also Editorial Consultant for Red House Marketing and a regular contributor to Bahrain This Month. He writes a weekly op-ed column for Akbar Al Khaleej (Arabic). He has also edited seven websites, including bahrainthismonth.com, womenthismonth.com