Neo-Cognitive Dissonance
A spectre is haunting the American Presidential election - the spectre of neo-conservatism. This is the philosophy of those within the Bush administration who argued most vociferously for the invasion of Iraq. Their rationale is the belief that people prefer freedom and democracy to autocracy, and that if the correct conditions are created people will insist on being free. A curious theory. Putting aside the question of how killing civilians and razing cities is creating the conditions necessary for democracy to thrive, let us examine the dissonance between this approach and the central message of the Bush/Cheney campaign for re-election. That message is: be afraid, the world is full of scary people, trust us to protect you. Don't ask too many questions. Allow us to curtail your freedoms to help fight the scary people. In short, while the neo-cons are intent on proving in Iraq that people will choose freedom, the Republicans here in America are intent on proving that people prefer the illusion of safety, and will willingly give up their freedom to attain it.
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