Bruce Jenket: Once committed to a narrative, people won't rethink views

To The Daily Sun,

A reader who realized I’m getting nowhere convincing leftists that President Donald Trump and his policies are good for this country recommended I read the book “Think Again” by organization psychologist Adam Grant. Here’s a free link: tinyurl.com/2yu8rrn6. It was very similar to the book “Influence” by American psychologist Robert Ciardini, who detailed how an unscrupulous media can make heroes out of criminals (e.g. George Floyd, Jussie Smollett, Abrego Garcia, etc.) and criminals out of patriots (e.g. Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn, President Trump, etc.). Mr. Grant explains how, when individuals commit to a narrative; they are not open to rethinking their views.

Here is his quote: “When we dedicate ourselves to a plan and it isn’t going as we hoped, our first instinct isn’t usually to rethink it. Instead, we tend to double down and sink more resources in the plan. This pattern is called escalation of commitment. Escalation of commitment happens because we are rationalizing creatures, constantly searching for self-justification for our prior beliefs as a way to soothe our egos, shield our images, and validate our past decisions.”

Democrats and their media mouthpieces, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc., are in this death spiral now. Fighting for criminal illegal immigrants, Hamas terrorists, men in women’s sports, opposing tax cuts for the lowest wage earners, justifying attacks on ICE agents, etc. 

We are in a psychological war today and our Democratic leaders are repeating history. Democrats were the party of slavery prior to the American Civil War. After defeat, they started the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) because they couldn’t “accept” the fact Black people were equals. Today’s Democratic leaders can’t “accept” that President Trump and his supporters have the country’s best interests at heart.

My advice to all leftists and Democrats is to “Think Again.”

Bruce Jenket

Moultonborough