GHALEB CACHALIA: Vital for DA to address cognitive dissonance that plagues SA
There must be genuine resonance with shared beliefs around ‘a core of basic humanity’
If the ANC’s claim to have delivered the building blocks of “a better life for all” in the run-up to the coming elections is to be effectively challenged so as to effect change to the way SA is governed, something must give. We must eliminate or reduce the discrepancy between belief and behaviour to eliminate or reduce dissonance.
Every time we make a decision, we experience dissonance: the rejected alternative is seldom entirely negative, while the chosen one is rarely all positive. Often our only option for reducing the discomfort emanating from dissonance is to deny, trivialise or seek justification for the unacceptable, immoral or incompetent. Moreover, our need to restore a sense of integrity can, under some conditions, even lead us to distort our perceptions of what we did. ..
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