Cognitive dissonance and the political Left
…[T]those who oppose ENDA [Employee Non-discrimination Act] for religious reasons, is it not possible to believe that homosexual acts are immoral, but also believe that LGBTs are entitled to fair treatment in the workplace?
~Professor Eric Martinez, National Paralegal College
30 years ago I used to be a liberal Democrat until I used critical thinking techniques to convert to conservatism during my senior year in college. When I think back why I ever voted Democrat my only logical answer is tradition. My parents always voted for the Democrat Socialist Party (although my maternal grandfather and uncle was named after Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican). I grew up believing without question the racialist propaganda from the NAALCP (National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People), Jesse Jackson, the Congressional Caucasian Caucus (aka Congressional Black Caucus). I even remember watching Walter Cronkite, the quintessential leftist company man, on CBS whom America believed in his evening “news” broadcast with such unwavering faith it was like Marx (I mean Moses) coming down from Mt. Sinai with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
Eventually I got tired of listening to the Marxist propaganda from my college professors and parroted by my fellow college students and began reading and researching on my own. Thus critical thinking was birthed in my soul and using these techniques I soon deduced that the political Left has a serious case of cognitive dissonance which is the discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions.
Professor Eric Baime, my colleague at the National Paralegal College where I’ve taught at for the past several years, in my opinion is the quintessential Leftist academic. I like Eric. He’s a true believer in liberalism, progressivism, and socialism presenting Leviathan government remedies for every societal problem. I wouldn’t go as far as to call him a Marxist, but the doctrinaire leftist ideas he frequently expresses on our NPC Facebook page has him right at the door. Furthermore, he seems incapable of resolving the obvious paradox that increasing numbers of Americans are discovering about Barack Obama—that the majority of American people voted twice for a president that is a pathological liar.
Here is how the cognitive dissonance of the Left is manifested regarding Obama messiah:
A) Barack Obama is a historical, transformative and revolutionary political figure therefore to speak against him or his policies means I’m a racist or a right-wing fanatic; and
B) Barack Obama is a bad or deceitful person who is spying on me and those I care about while stealing my doctor and healthcare plan through Obamacare.
Below are a couple of recent Facebook postings of Professor Baime and the dialogue it initiated demonstrating cognitive dissonance on the Left:
Professor Eric Baime: Do you think our Tea Party Congress will pass ENDA, ending discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, like the Senate did?
Professor Ellis Washington: Eric, sometimes I don’t know if you are a true believer of everything Leftist, or you just love making outrageous comments to foster passionate responses? I’m prone to think it’s both, but more of the former rather than the latter. The premise of your question (as with virtually all Leftists’ questions) is spurious, sophistic and often anti-intellectual (anti-logical). Same-sex marriage has no constitutional legitimacy whatsoever. If it did, why didn’t the Framers make it plain? And please don’t insult the historical struggle of Black Americans for equal rights by conflating Black civil rights with the radical LGBT agenda… just don’t do it!
Professor Eric Baime: Why can’t I do that, Ellis, and what about the struggles of women for equality and other minority groups, or are they “off limits” as well? Likewise, explain to me what there is inherently about LGBTs that prevent them from enjoying the same rights against discrimination as the rest of us.
Renée Hendrix (NPC student): Ellis, I notice a marked tendency in your posts to make assumptions and ascribe names or agendas to those who post. It appears to me that Eric has applied critical analysis to a relevant issue. His proposal is based on reason. I also challenge you, Ellis, to answer this question: why do you believe that, unlike blacks, gay people are not entitled to civil rights?
Professor Ellis Washington: Renee: First, if I have made “assumptions and ascribe names or agendas to those who post,” I ask, is this unlawful or cruel in this public forum? If so, name my improprieties or untruths written against Prof. Baime or anyone else in this forum. Secondly, I cautioned Renee to not use innuendo, state your arguments to me clearly using quotes of my own words. (Here, Renee couldn’t defend her initial attacks against me: that I make baseless assumptions about others).
Now to your question, Ms. Hendrix: “Why do I believe that, unlike blacks, gay people are not entitled to civil rights?” First, I do not believe that gay people are entitled to civil rights to the same degree of Blacks. Their historical struggle in America is totally different than the slavery and inhumane racial discrimination suffered by Black people in America to this day. Gays should not be entitled to special rights above those of other American citizens under the rule of law and under a reasonable interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, unless you first separate law from morality and separate church from state.
Historically, Black people in America were subjected to hundreds of years of forced slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow segregation after that. Our second class citizenship in America did not end with a perfunctory handshake and smile by LBJ and MLK at the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Was all of the marching, the vicious dogs, the lynchings, the water hoses, tear gas, the separate and inferior housing, restaurants, hotels and schools, the economic discrimination and racial hatred, the daily tortures perpetrated against Blacks by White people and fought against by MLK and the civil rights movement done so that so called “gays” can have the freedom to practice their unorthodox sexual behavior?
Did MLK march and give his life for gay rights? Absolutely Not! If you think that MLK did Renee you are in great need of relearning America’s real history, not the revisionist propaganda you’ve apparently been taught in the public schools. To equate Black civil rights to gay rights or the LGBT agenda is to belittle the struggles, the life, the deaths and the moral sanctity of all of those Blacks who sacrificed their lives over hundreds of years for us to one day be included in the “We” of We the People of the U.S Constitution based on God, Natural Law, liberty and truth.
Professor Eric Martinez: Performance is what employers should focus on. What people do on their own time should generally be their own business. As for those who oppose for religious reasons, is it not possible to believe that homosexual acts are immoral, but also believe that LGBTs are entitled to fair treatment in the workplace?
Professor Ellis Washington: In a state of cognitive dissonance, people may sometimes feel “disequilibrium”: frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc. which seemed to be absent here since Professor Baime answered Professor Martinez’s remark with “good point, Eric.” Therefore, I will hope against Hope that perhaps Professor Baime for the briefest moment was able to suspend his cognitive dissonance to allow a measure of intellectual clarity and critical thinking (which is the antithesis of cognitive dissonance) to just consider the reasoned views of others outside his existential progressive penitentiary.
America, please join me in trying to cure the cognitive dissonance of the Democrat Socialist Party and their tens of millions of voters that has given us such popular cognitive dissonant policies like FDR’s New Deal, LBJ’s Great Society, Obama’s ENDA and Obamacare—anti-American, anti-constitutional policies that have done so much to pervert, deconstruct and destroy the original intent of the constitutional Framers, Natural Law, liberty, truth and our Judeo-Christian traditions of this once great country.
Moral clarity is always greater than cognitive dissonance.
Book Notice
The Progressive Revolution: Liberal Fascism through the Ages (University Press of America, 2013)
Vol. I: 2007-08 Writings — Vol. II: 2009 Writings
By Ellis Washington, J.D.
“…the Thomas Sowell of his generation”
“The Progressive Revolution” present us hard-hitting , fearless analysis of the deteriorating state of affairs in our country, plus it’s fun and enlightening reading. — Dr. Walter Williams, former Chair, Dept. of Economics; professor, George Mason University; author, Race and Economics
…A shining, yet alarming look at the dark side of American culture. A must read for anyone who cares about the future of the American nation. — William Wagner, former Federal Magistrate judge; professor, Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Washington is an erudite scholar. Agree or disagree, this book is worth reading. — Atty. John W. Whitehead, founder/president of The Rutherford Institute; author, The Freedom Wars
Whether you agree with his views or not, the author’s unflinching political incorrectness and incisive erudition is what is needed to resuscitate academic and socio-political debate in the USA and the West. The epithet ‘page-turner’ is usually reserved to thrillers, but this cornucopial tome deserves it richly. — Dr. Sam Vaknin, editor-in-chief, Global Politician; author, Malignant Self-Love
Washington is a gifted writer, analyst, legal scholar and historian. We’re privileged to publish his work in WND. — Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer,WND.com and WND Books
There is an old saying which in its present iteration states “pioneers get slaughtered while settlers prosper.” Ellis Washington is a pioneer. His insights, observations, and even future projections, despite their accuracy, are almost always ahead of the curve. What he writes today, others will write tomorrow. He just writes before others are ready to listen and the others get the gravy. — Robert D’Agostino, former president and dean, professor, John Marshall Law School; author, Darwinism in the Classroom
Washington is a meticulous historian, keen political analyst, and discerning lawyer…. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to connect the dots between history, politics and morality. Ellis Washington is the Thomas Sowell of his generation. — Attorney Ann Fishman, legal analyst; founder of Liberty Legal Foundation International
Dedicated to his intellectual mentor, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, The Progressive Revolution chronicles both the historical significance and political deconstruction that the Progressive Revolution, or the Progressive Age, (circa 1860–present) has continuously perpetrated against society, culture, politics and law even to this day. These volumes are a collection of selected essays, articles, and Socratic dialogues from the weekly columns written by the author for WorldNetDaily.com, an independent news website of primarily conservative thought and ideas. This opus is divided into two volumes: Vol. I (2007-08 articles) and Vol. II (2009 articles) that are organized topically according to their subject matter of 12 intellectual disciplines including law, politics, foreign policy, philosophy, aesthetics, the academy, religion, economics, science, culture, society, and history.
About the Author
Ellis Washington was a former staff editor of the Michigan Law Review, law clerk at the Sixty-Plus Elder Law Clinic, and law clerk at the Rutherford Institute, including writing two law review manuscripts before he finished his first semester of law school. He is an Adjunct Professor at the National Paralegal College where he teaches constitutional law, legal ethics, contracts and advanced legal writing. A founding board member of Salt and Light Global, Washington is a co-host on Joshua’s Trial, a radio show of Christian conservative thought, and since 1987 he has been the Executive and Managing Editor of the Michigan Music Research Center [MMRC] (Founder, Professor Arthur R. LaBrew).
He holds degrees from DePauw University (B.M., 1983), University of Michigan (M.M., 1986), John Marshall Law School (J.D., 1994), including post-graduate studies in history and law at Michigan State University (2004), Harvard GSAS and Harvard Law School (1988-89). A prolific writer, Washington has edited over 25 books, articles, and monographs including their latest offering from MMRC—International Dictionary of Black Music and Musicians—from Antiquity to the End of the Nineteenth Century (1969-2013), 4 volumes. He’s written 7 books of his own and over two dozen law review articles, published in over 8 languages on 3 continents. Washington has written extensively on constitutional law, natural law, jurisprudence, legal history, Nazi law, juvenile law, politics, political and moral philosophy, critical race theory, critical legal studies, musicology and numerous other subjects. Washington’s latest law review articles include: Social Darwinism in Nazi Family and Inheritance Law and Nigger Manifesto: Ideological Racism inside the American Academy (forthcoming).
Help me to triumph in my 30 year struggle against ideological racism inside America’s colleges, universities, and law schools that shamefully blacklists conservatives and Black conservative academics, scholars, and intellectuals while keeping their numbers as faculty members below 1%, by visiting these essential websites: Ellis Washington Report and NiggerManifesto.com. *N.B.: For speaking engagements contact: ewashington@wnd.com
Volume I: ISBN 978-0-7618-6109-6 • $90.00 • Hardback • Spring 2013
Volume II: ISBN 978-0-7618-6111-9 • $80.00 • Hardback • Fall 2013
Books can be ordered at these links:
v Volume 1: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761861102
v Volume 2: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761861126
or call toll-free 1-800-462-6420 or download the PDF file to order by FAX, email or standard mail. Click here to download PDF or visit University Press of America.
Category: Commentary
