RATIONALIZATIONS AND LIP SERVICE

A wrestler does not rely wholly upon his own strength; he seeks to take unexpected advantage of the movements of his opponent so that the opponent's muscles contribute to his own downfall. A sudden tug on the arm provokes resistance, and the wrestler then throws his weight in the same direction. An argument is sometimes like this; one party to it may pull one way when his intent is to go somewhere else. We have chosen the heading "Rationalizations and Lip Service" to describe some of these feints. They are proposals which utilize the strength of others to throw them off balance. But, unlike the wrestler who is conscious of what he is doing, sometimes the speaker falls for his own deceptions.

Rationalization is the common human failing of offering to oneself or others some "good" reason in support of what one actually chooses to do or believe for another and perhaps discreditable reason. Nothing is more natural in taking one side of a case than to make the case one-sided. Though people are sometimes aware of their own rationalizations, more often they are not.

Lip service, the last fallacy under this particular division, is the fault of paying verbal homage to one thing while actually doing or advocating something quite different. The verbal acknowledgment smooths the way while the speaker heads for a different goal. Let us now take a closer look at some of the common rationalizations.