Saturday, April 26, 2008

In All Sincerity.....

Someone once said, "We are very apt to measure ourselves by our aspiration instead of our performance. But in truth the conduct of our lives is the only proof of the sincerity of our hearts".

Francois de La Rochefoucauld commented once, "Weak people cannot be sincere". I would rather put it this way. Its difficult to be sincere if one is weak...in character.

It is strange that even in this age of technology, we can sense sincerity or insincerity through something that is so impersonal...like the Internet for example. Seems like it is able to permeate through something that is so 'not human'.

I was reading the apology piece of Malaysia's Education Minister (for his keris wielding antics during a political assembly which some attributed it to one of the causes of the electoral shift towards the Opposition in the recent GE) and the commentaries that followed. Somehow, people were not impressed or in believe-mode to his apology. Why is that so?

Francois de La Rochefoucauld wrote in his book REFLECTIONS
that sincerity is an openness of heart; we find it in very few people; what we usually see is only an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others.
We surely cannot substitute sincerity for truth. One can be sincere and can be sincerely wrong. It is better we be truthful for truthfulness derives from the heart. And to be truthful we have to acknowledge our wrong doings and seek reconciliation without condition. Only when we do that, we can sense that an apology is sincere and truthful. I would strive rather for honesty than sincerity because though we can have sincerity with conviction, our honesty will always be subject to frequent public scrutiny.





2 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree. Who are we to judge whether a person is being sincere or not...? Hishammuddin is doing something noble with his apology, and he deserves another chance to prove himself. Let's all forgive and forget because that's what makes us human.

Anonymous said...

I agree too! Alot of people can't seem to forgive, as a matter of fact still condemn him for it.

I think is great he apologize. Let his actions speak out loud. If there is nothing to hide. People will eventually stop talking about it.