Politically inspired logic.(THE LAST WORD)

Cognitive dissonance is defined as the confused mental condition that results from holding incompatible beliefs simultaneously. It strikes me that an epidemic of deadly cognitive dissonance is infecting politicians. On one side of the political spectrum are people labeled conservatives. In this country in the past, that label has meant people who scrupulously defend constitutional intents--such as limited federal government, governmental checks and balances, and prudent federal spending. Nowadays, however, many people labeled as conservatives gleefully participate in pork-barrel spending, actively promote legislation that bypasses constitutional checks and balances (like joining the World Trade Organization), and support federal involvement in everything outside constitutional bounds (such as education and social welfare programs). Liberals, on the other hand, who are supposed to favor political reforms tending toward personal freedom, push legislation to criminalize certain thoughts (hate-crime legislation), punish institutions and communities that wish to express commonly held beliefs (anti-religious litigation), and take away freedom of speech (McCain/Feingold "Campaign Finance Reform").

The epidemic seems to be getting worse, afflicting the vast bulk of politicians; and it's extremely resistant to common cures. It's like Alzheimer's: the inflicted often don't realize they're sick, and the symptoms of the disease become more profound over time.

I've explored some possible answers as to what might be causing the spread of this disease. My first thought was that it had to be "something in the water." Not the water you drink, though, but the water people reside by. After all, the people who seem to be least afflicted come from the center of the country; while people from the ocean coasts seem to be most often afflicted --those politicians from New York, Massachusetts, and California were badly hit. But I discounted that reasoning because Senator John McCain of Arizona, an arid state, has a particularly virulent strain of the disease. Then I thought, "Maybe the disease is transmitted by handling cash." There is an abundance of millionaires in politics.

But again, I had to discount this idea--because of personal experience. Being that I'm of an ethnic ancestry reputed to be stingy and that it would take a team of horses and judicious use of a chain saw to get a wayward dollar out of my closed fist, the tact that I don't seem to be infected with the disease must mean that the contagion doesn't originate with money.

Finally it hit me: "The contagion must be passed along by associating with careers of the disease." And so I analyzed who the carriers of the disease might be. My search led me to a group of people belonging to the Council on Foreign Relations ...