--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip> > My theory -- and it's ONLY a theory, a half-baked opinion -- > explains SO MUCH of what we see in the world around us, > and on this forum. Think about the sometimes over-the-top > ways that people react to the idea that maybe Maharishi > wasn't right about everything, or that America is not > exactly the beacon of wealth, happiness, liberty, justice, > and freedom for all it pretends to be. Some people go > CRAZY when these beliefs are challenged. > > And WHY? Well, I think it's because they perceive -- and > correctly -- that if the things that these heretics are > saying about the things that they believe are true, then > their beliefs themselves are not true, or not complete.
No doubt this does happen from time to time. However, it's a mistake for the "heretics" to assume that all resistance to their attempts to set believers straight is due to the latter's fear of cognitive dissonance. This assumption, in fact, can become a defense against cognitive dissonance *on the part of the "heretics"*. It can get turned around into the proposition that if believers reject what the "heretics" are telling them, it's because what the heretics are saying is correct. In fact, it's entirely possible that it's the "heretics" who are incorrect, and the believers are pointing that out.
