The avalanche of news this month kicked up a tsunami of commentary. I saw no reason to kick in my own half-pint, having nothing especially original to offer. Maybe I'll have something new after the election — maybe not.
Standing in line for two hours for early voting got me thinking about cognitive dissonance theory again: it really is the most relevant framework for understanding behavior in these crazy times. The people standing in those lines are making a personal, public commitment to the the party they support, which makes it harder for them to change their allegiance afterwards. In the long run, voter suppression efforts may even have the effect of hardening the loyalties of Democrats those efforts are meant to discourage.
Hard as it is these days, I keep trying to think happy thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment