Conservatism Lives!

I saw Billy Mays as a downloadable Mii for the Wii yesterday. It really struck me as an odd thing. Here stood a tiny cartoon caricature of a man who has become famous for nothing more than selling things on TV. Things. Plural. If its “new”, “revolutionary”, or “not available in stores”, there’s a pretty good chance Billy Mays is pushing it in an infomercial. In a sense, Billy Mays is our modern day version of the snake oil salesman. The thing is, no one seems to mind. We’re used to it. We have become accustomed to being “sold”. We assume that most people we encounter have some sort of hidden agenda. Sarcasm is a standard method of communication. Consequently, sincerity is in short supply these days.

Like any resource, scarcity increases demand and therefore value. Politics is certainly no exception. One thing Obama definitely had going for him during the campaign and even since, is that he comes across as a man of deep sincerity. That’s appealing. Plain and simple. The problem is that the seduction of sincerity obscures the honest evaluation of the message.

To put it simply, sincerity is not an adequate evaluation of a man’s ideas or ideals. Hitler was sincere. Mao was sincere. Even Osama Bin laden is sincere. Unfortunately, in our sincerity starved society, sincerity seems to be enough to convince most people that its presence alone grants merit. That is a foolish, and dangerous place to find ourselves.