--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in…" description: "\"Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics.\" — Mark McKinnon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png" --- # Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics. ![“Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics.” quote by Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png) > “Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics.” [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hypocrisy in politics acts like a conspicuous scar, exposing moral failure. **In simple terms:** Political hypocrisy is a visible flaw. Key Takeaway Demand integrity from leaders. Themes politics ethics hypocrisy Mood critical concerned Type political ethical When to use this quote - voting - activism - debate - media analysis Key Concepts social critique public trust Questions to Reflect On - How can you spot hidden hypocrisy? - What standards should politicians meet? 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When you say you're an artist, people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/in-america-the-word-art-has-become-like-the-word-adultery-it-s-this/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [ It \[the scarlet letter\] had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-the-scarlet-letter-had-the-effect-of-a-spell-taking-her-out-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Aria: I went to Hollis. Because I was looking for...you know. Her. She was teaching an art class, so I ran inside, grabbed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/aria-i-went-to-hollis-because-i-was-looking-for-you-know-her-she-was/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [This is the worst problem with living history museums. They always leave the best parts out. Like typhus. And opium. 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It's the way of calling things out for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/twitter-is-sort-of-version-of-labeling-except-with-140-characters/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wilderness... Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/she-had-wandered-without-rule-or-guidance-into-a-moral-wilderness-her/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The vulgar, who, in those dreary old times, were always contributing a grotesque horror to what interested their imaginations, had a story about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-vulgar-who-in-those-dreary-old-times-were-always-contributing-a/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [If the truth were to be known, everyone would be wearing a scarlet letter of one form or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/if-the-truth-were-to-be-known-everyone-would-be-wearing-a-scarlet/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Self-publishing in comics is core to the whole artform. There is no scarlet letter in comics as there still is, to some degree, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieron-gillen/self-publishing-in-comics-is-core-to-the-whole-artform-there-is-no/) [Kieron Gillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieron-gillen/) > [...if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/if-truth-were-everywhere-to-be-shown-a-scarlet-letter-would-blaze/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More by Mark McKinnon > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [It's just madness. First email. Then instant message. Then MySpace. Then Facebook. Then LinkedIn. Then Twitter. It's not enough anymore to 'Just do it.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/it-s-just-madness-first-email-then-instant-message-then-myspace-then/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [One thing is clear: Ron Paul defies labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/one-thing-is-clear-ron-paul-defies-labels/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Mitt Romney is a nice guy. But, we know where nice guys finish in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/mitt-romney-is-a-nice-guy-but-we-know-where-nice-guys-finish-in/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Sarah Palin is brilliant. She is a media magnet and a media magnate. She creates headlines and draws crowds wherever she goes, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/sarah-palin-is-brilliant-she-is-a-media-magnet-and-a-media-magnate/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [I'm no economist. I don't even play one on TV. I'm just a husband, a father, a taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/i-m-no-economist-i-don-t-even-play-one-on-tv-i-m-just-a-husband-a/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Republicans constantly claim to be the party that defends the Constitution. We have no legitimate right to that claim until we get right on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/republicans-constantly-claim-to-be-the-party-that-defends-the/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [If we cannot come together to pause, to respect our dead and the heroic lives of meaning they led, then ours is truly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/if-we-cannot-come-together-to-pause-to-respect-our-dead-and-the/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [People who know Paul Ryan say, 'He will be president one day.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/people-who-know-paul-ryan-say-he-will-be-president-one-day/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Every president becomes a caricature. The press, partisans, late-night shows, and other arbiters of our culture these days boil down complicated and multi-faceted personalities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/every-president-becomes-a-caricature-the-press-partisans-late-night/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Now personally, I think the president should golf every day and never have a press conference. I want the leader of the free world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/now-personally-i-think-the-president-should-golf-every-day-and-never/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [In politics, not all lies are all lies. And not all truths are complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/in-politics-not-all-lies-are-all-lies-and-not-all-truths-are-complete/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [There's no question that many factors contribute to voters' perceptions about debates and who wins and who loses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/there-s-no-question-that-many-factors-contribute-to-voters/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Presidential primary debates are an important part of our political process. But the media has wrested complete control from the parties and candidates over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/presidential-primary-debates-are-an-important-part-of-our-political/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Sometime in the not too distant future, denying gays the right to marry will be viewed as historically corrupt - as corrupt as denying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/sometime-in-the-not-too-distant-future-denying-gays-the-right-to/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) [Explore all 138 Mark McKinnon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) ## More Hypocrisy quotes > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [Honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/honesty-in-politics-is-the-result-of-strength-hypocrisy-is-the-result/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [ “In all, the future secretary of defense and wartime vice president\[, Dick Cheney,\] would receive five deferments during the Vietnam War, protecting him from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-savage/in-all-the-future-secretary-of-defense-and-wartime-vice-president/) [Charlie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-savage/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) [Doctavius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doctavius/) > [The hypocrisy and false piety of the deniers aside, the relationships of gays have no effect on heteros. Especially all the heteros who've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/the-hypocrisy-and-false-piety-of-the-deniers-aside-the-relationships/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Hypocrisy is a detriment to progress. There's always a hidden agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/hypocrisy-is-a-detriment-to-progress-there-s-always-a-hidden-agenda/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Mayor De Blasio's appointment of Bill Bratton as police commissioner is the height of hypocrisy. Asking Bratton to stop racial profiling and stop and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barron/mayor-de-blasio-s-appointment-of-bill-bratton-as-police-commissioner/) [Charles Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barron/) > [It's about time Hypocrisy should be adopted as a religion, considering it's got more followers than any other religion on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashutosh-cheulkar/it-s-about-time-hypocrisy-should-be-adopted-as-a-religion-considering/) [Ashutosh Cheulkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashutosh-cheulkar/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [“even the worst men wanted to be perceived as better than they were. How else could hypocrisy have risen to such delirious levels?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/even-the-worst-men-wanted-to-be-perceived-as-better-than-they-were/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [What I object to in Mother is that she wants me to think her thoughts. Apart from the question of hypocrisy, I prefer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/what-i-object-to-in-mother-is-that-she-wants-me-to-think-her-thoughts/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) [Browse all 1,238 Hypocrisy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark McKinnon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-politics/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hypocrisy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-politics/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/mark-mckinnon-3139_hypocrisy_hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-polit_2600515.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics.” — Mark McKinnon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark McKinnon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-politics/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/hypocrisy-is-the-scarlet-letter-in-politics/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```