How to Come In From the Warm Cocoon and Find Cold Hard Reality

I voted today.  It is a small enough civic duty.  There are other civic duties that are more onerous, such as sitting on a jury, and formerly, going out for militia training once a month.  As I was approaching the polling place, a woman asked if I would like a Democrat ballot, all filled out, of course.  "All you gotta do is vote like they tell you."  I declined.  What do I look like, a low information voter?  Inside, as I was waiting in line, it occurred to me that there was no one there to ask if I needed a Republican ballot.  Either the Republicans are as stupid as they are portrayed. or they have more faith in the intelligence of their voters.  I prefer to think its the latter, but will not discount the former.

This brings me to a piece I read this morning entitled Walking Away from Cognitive Dissonance by Karen Kataline. After giving the example of Judy Monro-Leighton, who perfectly exemplifies why we should not believe all women without evidence, she then provides this:

Here’s one they’re driving by now: Ten women in Vermont did a naked photo shoot for a campaign called “Grab Them by the Ballot.” Chelsea Handler recently joined the bandwagon just to add some celebrity gravitas to the cause.

I know we're not supposed to ask, but how does stripping naked with only a ballot to cover your private parts make the case that women are oppressed and Democrats should turn out to vote?

If you do ask, you can expect to be subjected to personal attacks and smears that have an “ist” or an “phobe” at the end. “Racist!” “Sexist!” “Homophobe!” “Xenophobe!” We ought to have a song with those lyrics. We could write it ourselves.

I have often wondered how people can believe two mutually exclusive things at the same time. It would be as if you believed tomatoes are poisonous and yet good for you, and you should eat as many of them as you can stand. For example, how can Nancy Pelosi, famous for being Catholic, also believe that women have a right to abortion on demand? Does she think God will forgive her when she meets him on judgement day?

I recently decided to challenge some of this thinking with alumni from Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work, of which I am a member. I posted the Judy Munro-Leighton story on their Facebook page. Without commenting on the piece itself, they screeched, “Troll!” and “Racist!” One poster called my ethics into question, and another said I shouldn’t be allowed near clients.

I have been treated to the same thing. People claiming liberal (I don't think the word means what they say it means) do not want any facts to get in the way of their thinking.  Unfortunately, one can not make them begin to think for themselves, they have to discover the reality on their own, and if often takes a long time, if ever.  Pray for them, as I will.