Posted by
Gary A McAvin on Monday, March 12, 2007 6:40:53 AM
Are we being forced to comply with something that we really don’t agree with lately? I mean; with the forced selection of presidential candidates, with the forced compliance of illegal immigrants, with the forced compliance of the cost of gas for our cars? Where does it end? What effect will this have on the good people of America? There are terms that identify this anomaly, one is called dissonance.
I. Dissonance: discord between behavior and belief.
A. Identified by Leon Festinger, cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state
that people feel when they find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they
know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold.
B. Humans have a basic need to avoid dissonance and establish consistency.
C. The tension of dissonance motivates the person to change either the behavior or the belief.
D. The more important the issue and the greater the discrepancy, the higher the
magnitude of dissonance.
Do we believe in what is happening in our country now? Do we believe that justice has been served by the prosecution of Scooter Libby? What about the prosecution of those border agents, Compean & Ramos? What about the gas prices being elevated without cause? We need consistency in our lives. The system that governs the USA is causing dissonance. We are also finding ourselves in a very tense angry state because of these inconsistencies. Will we reach a breaking point eventually.?
Forced compliance can be seen in religions that incline towards cult status and Marshall Law imposed on non-compliant dissidents. The first can be avoided by making wise decisions and the second is unavoidable when applied to an anarchist people that need to be controlled completely. If you fall under the control of a religious cult leader that imposes self and opinion above your beliefs, this will cause dissonance. Ultimately you will be under a distressed state of mind if this is the case.
Forced compliance can beget changed beliefs. For instance; the forced compliance towards a Socialist system can subsequently be accepted over time and the dissonance is then relieved. This is the intention of the communist way of thinking. Make small gains if possible, and when you expose their tactics they retreat and regroup. They then re-plan their strategy and attack this dilemma from another angle. As the governmental system moves towards a one world totalitarian dictatorship, forced compliance will become the norm and then accepted (by some) way.
I don’t know about you; but I find myself at great dissonance with many issues confronting our generation presently. I do not believe it will get any better because; forced compliance is being implemented everywhere. People are afraid to rock the boat. They are in their little comfort zones with fat bellies and reasonable gratuities. So they feel unmoved by this subtle attack. As for me; I will make noise where I can and while I can!