2024 Election Results tells me that America deserves an apology from the mainstream media. Facebook takes exception to this piece.

Cognitive dissonance– psychosis – is a psychological term that describes the discomfort you feel when you believe what mainstream media says will happen don’t line up with reality. It generally refers to symptoms related to a break with reality, or a difficulty perceiving what is real and what isn’t.

Or it could refer to the tension of holding two conflicting beliefs at once. “Cognitive” means relating to your thoughts. “Dissonance” describes a lack of harmony. Your thoughts – on the one hand, that you consider yourself a staunch supporter of a certain political party and, on the other hand, that you cannot support that party’s policy about the US Constitution, are not in harmony with each other. The discomfort this causes can push you to make a change, either in your behavior or your beliefs, that will make you feel more comfortable. You may feel threatened, insignificant and display an aggressive behavior toward people or things that make you feel small.

According to WebMD

Causes of psychosis include:

Getting new information. When you receive new information that challenges your beliefs – like learning that President Donald Trump soundly defeated Kamala Harris – you can have cognitive dissonance. For example, this is what MSM told you.

Now compare to what really happened

And the reaction from those with little to no Cognitive Dissonance:

Social pressures. Peer pressure often refers to children and teenagers, but adults can behave in a way that goes against their values because of social pressure, too. Laughing at an offensive joke because your Facebook friend told it or because others are laughing is an example of that.

Forced compliance. Being made to do something in public that you don’t agree with can cause cognitive dissonance.

Making a hard decision. Making any difficult decision can lead to cognitive dissonance.

Symptoms of cognitive dissonance.

According to Alta Mira, everyone’s experience is unique, but there are some general and common symptoms of psychosis. These can be triggered by drug use

Hallucinations. These are perceptions from the senses that are not real.

Delusions. This is a persistent belief in something that is not true, even when evidence is presented.

Disturbed thoughts and emotions. Common with psychosis is disordered thinking, rapid and unorganized speech, inappropriate emotional responses, or a lack of emotionsAccording to WebMD If you do have cognitive dissonance, you might:

Feel anxiety or stress

Feel guilt, shame, or regret

Justify to yourself or to others why you did something

Dismiss or downplay the results of your actions to yourself or others

Feel physical tension in your body, such as tightness in your neck, back, or shoulders

Feel tension or conflict in your relationships if the situation involved another person.

Righteous Indignation at Name-Calling: real or feigned?

Just hours ago, the New York Times reported “Donald J. Trump and his allies are full of bravado over his chances of victory in the closing days of the 2024 campaign. But there are signs, publicly and privately, that the former president and his team are worried that their opponents’ descriptions of him as a racist and a fascist may be breaking through to segments of voters.” It doesn’t report that in 2020 Kamala Harris got 1% of the primary votes. In 2024 she got zero percent of the primary vote. The New York Times previously reported Joe Biden was on top shape, that the economy was up. Then swoosh, something happened. Biden was moved aside and Kamala came in to ‘fix’ the economy that just days before was in good shape. The NYT didn’t report that it had previously argued the US Constitution was dangerous.

On X, 20% of users, identified as progressives, are the most prolific users on the platform, according to Pew Research, accounting for over 80% of the posts. They generally campaign, using progressive logic,  that Kamala Harris ran a ‘substantive’ campaign.  But Kamala ran on platitudes: celebrity endorsements, name-calling, such as convicted felon, fascist, serial rapists, debunked hoaxes. She would neither defend the Biden-Harris record nor say what she would do differently.

Meanwhile, Trump ran on issues such as,  the border, inflation, crime, war, freedom of religion and freedom of the pres. Clearly Kamala ran the sizzle campaign, Trump had the steak.

Sadly, the mainstream media went full in for the sizzle 

How would a rational person react at the results? An acute case of Cognitive Dissonance; Readers reacting to the great difference from what the were told to what actually happened.

When election redults show that every race, creed, gender and age voted for President Trump, but progressives react by call the voters RACISTS – what does that tell you?

Reaction to 2024 Election Results Exhibiting Acute Cognitive Dissonance

It tells me that America deserves an apology from the main stream media. Clearly MSM has abdicated the 4th state. If you have been on X to monitor the election results, traditional journalism is irrelevant. Citizen journalism, also known as the 5th estate has replaced the mainstream media.

Can you recognize Cognitive Dissonance 

WebMD says that you can have cognitive dissonance and not even know it. You could be in a state of cognitive dissonance any time you feel guilty about a choice you made or find yourself trying to justify an action that you just took. A cursory look at X clearly shows that most users have no idea they have acute cognitive dissonance.

Way Forward 

Cognitive dissonance theory assumes that, we want to live in a state of cognitive consonance. That is, we want our beliefs and our actions to be in harmony with each other so that wr can be at peace with yourself.

To make that happen, we need to accept the Serenity Prayer:   “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” The serenity, often used in 12-step programs and other recovery settings, is a prayer for peace, strength, and wisdom.

Saint Philip Neri’s Maxim of the Day for November 6 is a propos:

He who really wishes to become a saint must never defend himself, except in a few rare cases, but always acknowledge himself in fault, even when what is alleged against him is untrue.

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