Honesty is a family value

John Ensign’s admission yesterday that he had a long-running affair with a woman on his staff, the wife of one of his good friends, wouldn’t be a big deal except for the H-factor.

H — as in — honesty. H — as in — hypocrisy.

Ensign, a Nevada Republican, has been an outspoken social conservative, a member of the evangelical Promise Keepers, and a scold defending the “sanctity” of marriage.

What does it mean that so many family-values conservatives have turned out to be a) gay, b) serial cheaters, or c) the patrons of prostitutes?

From Roman Catholic priests to Republican politicians to evangelical preachers, the list of finger-waggers exposed as hypocrites is too long to ignore.

Many traditionalists argue that the path of righteousness is just plain hard. The fact that people make human mistakes doesn’t discredit the ideal.

But at the very least, this track record suggests the need for more compassion, more understanding of the frailties of the human heart — and far less moral grandstanding.

In the end, honesty is a family value too. And hypocrisy — in my book — is one of the deadliest of sins…