Politics and Cognitive Dissonance

In the 1950s Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter published a fascinating book titled When Prophecy Fails. Festinger later published his book, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. In When Prophecy Fails is a unique book detailing the events surrounding a UFO end times cult. Researchers and their assistants infiltrated the UFO cult and participated in their events, followed their teachings, and reported on their findings.

Examples of Jewish and Christian end times cults in the 1600s and the 1800s respectively are provided as case studies. In the 1600s Sabbatai Levi proclaimed himself as the Jewish Messiah and was to create his Messianic Kingdom in the Holy Land. Many Jews in the Middle East and Europe followed him. Part of the prophecy required the sultan to be deposed. Sabbatai and a small group of his followers went to Constantinople where the Turkish authorities immediately arrested him. His survival of the arrest only buoyed his support while in prison. It was not until he converted to Islam did his followers accept disconfirmation of their beliefs.

In the 1800s William Miller led what were called the Millerites. This end time cult had a predicted date of the end of the world and the return of Christ to set up his Kingdom on Earth. After the predicted dates for the return of Christ passed support and fervor only grew as new dates were focused on. After a few years of disconfirmation of the prophecies the Millerites disbanded.

In the UFO cult infiltrated by Festinger’s researchers a similar pattern was observed. There was a predicted end of the world date, and the UFO was supposed to save the followers and transport them to space. After the predicted dates of the end of the world passed some of the cult members responded to this disconfirmation with increased fervor and proselytizing.

Cognitive dissonance is the tension created when one’s beliefs are confronted with information that is inconsistent with those beliefs. It is the antecedent prompting actions designed to reduce dissonance and or increase consonance i.e. constancy with preexisting beliefs. This can sometimes manifest as ignoring information that contradicts the preexisting belief and seeking to cling more rigidly to those beliefs, or in buying into false narratives to support the original belief.

Cognitive dissonance is more likely to occur if the attachment is to beliefs that have a higher degree of emotional investment. Politics, with a plethora of emotionalized beliefs, is ripe with cognitive dissonance, as can easily be imagined.

The man made climate change hoax is a secular end times cult that is a prime example. This end times cult has absconded with billions of dollars, infringed on human liberty, and happiness. Senseless regulations and restrictions have been employed causing economic hardship. Literally people have altered their lives because of an irrational fear that the world is going to end because of human activity. Even agriculture is under attack because it is allegedly unsustainable.

Even as the climate change cult’s prophet’s predictions routinely are disconfirmed, this data is ignored, and the beliefs are clung to more rigidly. For instance, Al Gore had predicted that the oceans would rise and destroy cities and so on if civilization did not come to a grinding halt decades ago. Undeterred cult members just cling to their emotionalized beliefs. Even the fact that it first was a fear of the ice age, then global warming, and then climate change itself was to be feared, is a clear sign of the scam. This continuous bait and switch was ignored.

The Q Anon phenomena was a psychological operation that played to peoples’ cognitive dissonance, and many believed that Trump was rounding up the pedophiles in government while they started the lockdowns and were told to trust the plan as the white hats would go get the big bad black hats.

It was easier to buy these alternative reality theories than accept the fact that the government was becoming completely authoritarian and carrying out a global attack on humanity.

After the 2020 election many Democrats suffered from cognitive dissonance and discounted all evidence pointing to the likelihood that the 2020 election was stolen. The information was simply discarded as conspiracy theory.

On the flip side, many Trump supporters engaged in cognitive dissonance and started buying into narratives that while Biden was in office Trump was really running our government with the help of the white hats in the military. When confronted with the fact that Biden stole the 2020 election they sought out fantasy land to reduce the dissonance.

Unfortunately, in Trump’s second term there is quite a bit of cognitive dissonance. The Trump administration has signed onto the same exact policies that Kamala Harris and the Democrats would have promoted on several major issues. The Big Bad Bill that was passed adds trillions to the deficit. True, Democrats may have spent more, but MAGA did not vote to further bankrupt America. Trump has also adopted an interventionist foreign policy and jumped onto two foreign wars. One in Yemen that was negotiated to an end. The second was supporting and then joining a war with Iran that ended in a face saving bombing of an empty facility and then a token response by Iran. The Trump administration appears to be ramping up the war effort against Russia as well now.

There is also the promotion of technocratic slavery through a stable coin, with the Genius Act. This may become a centralized digital bank currency that will allow control over every aspect of our lives. The smart contracts will be able to freeze or remove money from accounts and apply a social credit score to determine allowed usage of funds and who to interact with. If this longer term plan comes to fruition, then it will not be your money, it will be your allowance based on good behavior. There will no longer be any private property.

On day two of the Trump administration, he announced Stargate and pretended that the new AI database facilities were a new idea when in fact they were in the works for years. Tasking Palantir with creating a digital database on every American is about as Orwellian as we can get.

Needless to say, the Trump administration has not stopped the mRNA biological and technological weapons of mass destruction. Instead, they keep approving new ones and are investing in self amplifying mRNA.

There is definitely cognitive dissonance. When the opposing party is in power there is a strong resistance to endless war, police state initiatives, and so on. Yet when the teams are switched and your team is in power. Well, then you shouldn’t say anything about these issues.

It is easier to ignore these issues and buy into than confront the tension and discomfort caused by facing the inconsistency of the cognitive dissonance. It is easier to buy into the new narrative designed to make you feel better by reducing your dissonance.

After all, we did get cane sugar in Coca Cola….

Dr. Joseph Sansone is a psychotherapist opposed to psychopathic authoritarianism.

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