Do as I Say, Not as I Do

When someone advocates about something good that they themselves don’t practice, we tend to call them hypocrites. We repeat the old saying about people living in glass houses. Or if we are a bit more charitable, we call it ironic.

But is that the right response? Aren’t we also told to focus on the message, not the messenger?

So for a minute, forget the extreme examples like a communist advocating individual freedom or a corrupt politician (is there another kind?) asking you to pay your taxes. Instead think about the above questions in more harmless contexts, like say, a cell phone manufacturer suggesting that all phone chargers be inter-operatable.

Jeffrey Zeldman wrote a very good article about why it isn’t ironic if an article in a printed or digital publication recommends something that the very same publication doesn’t follow. His closing lines on why there’s nothing ironic about such things makes perfect sense in all contexts:

“It is publishing. It is humanity. It is the vanguard of ideas clashing against the rearguard of commerce. This is not new. This is all to be expected. We must stop raising our eyebrows and chuckling at it. We must decide to accept the world as it is, or to roll up our sleeves and help.”