TelePolis comments on the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) survey on Bush and Kerry voters and their view of the world. ¹ The result is basically that Bush people think that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction, that the president was right to go to war, and that people around the world prefer Bush to Kerry. The article says that this is really sad, but that the scariest thing about this survey is that it shows in what a desolate state our democracy is, when people refuse to believe new evidence contradicting their world-view. Basically the article claims that this is a general phenomenon not limited to Bush voters... ²
And the scary thing is I think the article could be right. And so I wonder how much information I’m just refusing to acknoledge because it doesn’t fit my world-view.
Reminds me of one of my favorite words: Cognitive dissonance. (See 2003-09-29, 2003-10-30.)
“Chief weapons inspector, Charles Duelfer, has now issued a comprehensive report that confirms the earlier conclusion of David Kay that Iraq did not have the weapons that our intelligence believed were there. The Duelfer report also raises important new information about Saddam Hussein’s defiance of the world and his intent and capability to develop weapons. The Duelfer report showed that Saddam was systematically gaming the system, using the U.N. oil-for-food program to try to influence countries and companies in an effort to undermine sanctions. He was doing so with the intent of restarting his weapons program, once the world looked away. Based on all the information we have today, I believe we were right to take action, and America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison.” – Bush quoted in the Telepolis article (in the caption of one of the pictures)
#USA