Source of Cognitive Dissonance: Right at Heart but Wrong in Principle

A short post this time. It’s 5AM in Paris. I’ll try not to make this a habit.

Recently I was on the Facebook when I noticed that a friend’s status read “_____ is mesmerized by Barack Obama.” This statement instantly filled me with the sort of uneasy prickliness that courses through a parent’s veins when watching a child do something that is not only inconvenient but wildly wrong in principle. Now, I have no quarrel with Barack Obama. I certainly like him a lot more than I’ve liked any of his serious rivals in recent election history. But there was a certain wrongness in this statement that I couldn’t let go unanswered.

Here’s my thought in the nude: allowing oneself to be mesmerized at the hands of a politician is an horrible, thoughtless, dangerous act. Again, I like Obama more than I’ve liked any major party presidential candidate in my lifetime. But this has nothing to do with him. Politics should never be a religious experience. And by surrendering the caution we ought to maintain concerning any politician, we endanger not only our intellectual integrity but the safety of everyone else on the planet.

Seventy years ago a whole lot of people were mesmerized by politicians. Moscow, Germany, and Italy all had mesmerizing leaders. Suffice it to say that my family was among the victims of this mindless fascination. I don’t think the danger is there for Obama to be a dicator. Nor do I think he’ll be anything short of the most tolerant, brilliant leader we could hope for in today’s political climate. This has nothing to do with Barack Obama. But there is something powerfully wrong with the mindless cult of personality that accompanies politics. Even when the candidate is the best of all possible choices, this attitude is dangerous and unhealthy.

A candidacy that offers the promise of sensible foreign policy, greater access to health care and a shift in direction on energy policy is a wonderful thing. But not even under these glowing circumstances will I surrender myself to the treatment of a presidential candidate like a religious figure. We owe it to ourselves to maintain caution and autonomy as concerns any political allegiance. It’s this guardedness that keeps us safe.