Aspire to be a hypocrite?

So many people seem to be reaching out for attention and pulling bizarre stunts to get it.  Are you just imagining this social phenomenon or is it increasingly widespread and true? What about your own tactics? Are you in the habit of telling people things that aren't true and then, do you pull all the stops to prove yourself wrong? Is sparking controversy and repenting, then sliding down the slippery slope, supposed to be an accetpable way to improve your self-worth and self-image?

Let's consider a rock star like Britney Spears who recently shaved her head on impulse and made other questionable decisions which landed big headlines. She committed herself to live-in rehab, signed herself out, then recommitted herself again and left. What are we supposed to believe about her desire to get well? Why do we keep watching media to find out what happens next?

Think about the death of porn star Anna Nicole Smith and the ongoing dispute over the paternity of her baby daughter. The five men who currently claim to be the girl's dad are certainly setting a memorable example.  Apparently, large sums of money at stake imply the time must be right to admit having few morals or virtues.  So the modern world encourages people to say one thing, do another, and hope that portrayed morals and virtues reconcile when blood work comes back.

Refer back to director Michael Moore's 2004 film, Fahrenheit 9/11.  His views of what happened to the U.S. after September 11 portray the Bush Administration as being full of hypocrites.  According to this Oscar-winning film (best documentary), the Adminstration allegedly used the tragic event to advance its agenda to initiate unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Does this mean these politicians aspired to become successful hypocrites to implement their strategic plans?

Well, even you have a public persona everyone sees and views of yourself only you know about. What you say and whether you act consistently are details which can come back to haunt you.  Some people may interpret that you’re simply a "hypocrite" at times or plain "ignorant" of facts. Do you play act during any major life milestones? If so, this differs from someone who does things wrong because he doesn’t know better. Maybe you should seek opinions of your behavior.  At least two sides exist to a coin.  Multiple perspectives may even call into question what you think you want and why. If you don't know yourself, consolation is other people will have their views. 

Animal hybrids-monsters or your new best friend?

What if you took the risk to voice beliefs on a topic that went against everything you had ever been taught and everyone you know? Do you think your world would cave in and crush you? Probably not. And yet, you would likely feel compelled to do quite a bit of explaining to justify your position. Christopher Reeve became quite a strong advocate of stem cell research and he found he was continually justifying himself because many people think harvesting cells is wrong.

Consider the controversial scientific research where scientists now create animal-human hybrids. The public has very divergent views on animal stem cell research and general animal experiments in laboratories. Violent protests about this issue have gone on in parts of the United States.

In 2003, Chinese scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were reportedly the first human-animal chimeras successfully created. They were allowed to develop for several days in a laboratory dish before the scientists destroyed the embryos to harvest their stem cells.

In 2004, in Minnesota, researchers at the Mayo Clinic created pigs with human blood flowing through their bodies. Perhaps there doesn't seem much of a risk in this procedure to you?

In 2005, at Stanford University in California, an experiment was conducted to create mice with human brains. This is another real life example of a chimera---creatures that are part human and part animal.  In the not too distant past, this concept was only a legend in mythology.

Scientists feel that, the more humanlike the animal, the better research model it makes for testing drugs or possibly growing "spare parts," such as livers, to transplant into humans.

The 2005 movie, entitled, The Island, explored potential repercussions of using human clones to harvest organs for transplants. The popularity of that film in the box office reveals that such controversy draws audiences.  How many people would choose to grow a clone to survive?  Do we wish to really go there? If you reply no, I'd suggest that we already seem well on our way. A big question is, can we place limits on this technology or even go backwards to erase progress? Whatever your answer, you're also confronted with the decision to consider animal hybrid creatures monsters or your new best friend, whom you may feel compelled to murder in the future.