Years ago I took a cultural anthropology class as an undergrad, and I remember a lecture on belief systems, and the subject of Festinger’s Syndrome came up. I must admit I don’t remember the actual subject of the lecture, but I do remember my professor saying that in the face of contradictory evidence, people will believe what they want to believe. I thought at that time, what? Then my professor went on to give the example of the Flat Earth Society, whose members claim that the earth is flat, and ignore any scientific evidence to the contrary. I wondered at that time what drives people to hold on to beliefs and behaviors that are contradictory. Sure, I act in contradictory ways. This is a simplistic example, but I know that eating a well-balanced diet that’s low in saturated fats is best for my health, but some days I’ll just go for a deep-fried corn dog and tater tots from Sonic, or a plate of ribs smothered in barbeque sauce. I know that eating a lot of fat and carbs isn’t great for my health, but I do it anyway, and I’ll even justify it by telling myself that I’ll have a salad next time.

So going back to Leon Festinger, well-known social psychologist. He is best known for his 1957 book, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. His theory proposed that humans strive for psychological consistency to function in the real world, and when life gets inconsistent, humans get stressed, and do whatever they can to reduce the inconsistencies and stress. That makes sense, no one likes to be stressed. But, the odd thing is that instead of dealing with contradictory ideas, or inconsistencies, some people tend to cling to ideas and practices that are at odds with reality, and they will believe whatever they believe even in the face of evidence to the contrary. So, being psychologically uncomfortable motivates a person to reduce the dissonance, or “uncomfortableness,” and leads to avoidance of information likely to increase the discomfort. The greater the dissonance, the greater the urge to reduce it.

In his research, Festinger cited the case of Dorothy Martin. In 1954, Dorothy Martin, an L. Ron Hubbard fan, prophesized that on December 20, 1954, a flying saucer from the planet Clarion would arrive to rescue all of her followers from a great flood. Many of her followers left their jobs, left their spouses and families. But when the flying saucer failed to show up on that day, and the world wasn’t going to be underwater, her followers actually became more confident in her prophecy, and went on to recruit new members. Festinger proposed that this behavior was counter-intuitive, and that the inconsistencies between our attitudes and behaviors create cognitive dissonance, which makes us uncomfortable, so we try to alleviate that discomfort by changing our ways of thinking. So, when Dorothy’s prophesy failed, her followers were probably pretty uncomfortable, after all, they had left their jobs, homes and families to follow this person, they had invested so much time and energy. So, instead of facing the fact that the prophesy was perhaps false and they had been duped by a fraud, her followers stepped up their support and devotion to her. In this way, they could justify their efforts, and not lose anything.

So, this brings me to the question of why do people still support Trump? OK, I get it that if you’re rich and you’re reaping the benefits of tax breaks, and de-regulation etc., that’s a no-brainer. But what about the Trump supporters who aren’t wealthy? Your neighbor who lives down the street and works as a plumber, the school teacher who has to work two jobs to make ends meet, or the suburban mom who runs her own small business? Why do they support Trump? They’re not getting any big tax breaks, or big bail-outs. Is it Festinger’s Syndrome, or what they call today, cognitive dissonance?

In 2016 many Americans voted for Trump despite misgivings about his character and competence as a world leader, but I understand that maybe they didn’t like Hillary, and the economy was doing pretty good at the time. The Access Hollywood tape, the “grab her by the pussy” comment, the multiple bankruptcies, failed casinos, rape accusations, and his claim that he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody” with no repercussions apparently didn’t really factor into the support for Trump. And now, four years later, we’re in the middle of a pandemic that has had catastrophic effects on human lives, and the world economy. It’s obvious that Trump ignored and denied the danger of COVID-19 for months primarily for political gain, and he still contradicts reports of increasing cases and deaths in the US. His daily tweets and efforts to distract and deflect can no longer hide his administration’s abysmal response to the pandemic, and the fact that he and other GOP supporters are calling for children to go back to school is absolutely contradictory. Not to mention the politicization of wearing masks, when clearly the science shows that wearing masks and practicing social distancing can reduce the spread of COVID-19. And then we have millions who will potentially be evicted from their homes, and no aid in sight from our representatives in Washington. I can only think that Trump supporters are in a state of cognitive dissonance. I understand that those that voted for Trump were hoping for a shake-up of the old, grizzled swamp in Washington, looking for a change, for someone who spoke his mind, someone transparent. But the uncomfortable truth is that the Trump presidency has caused such damage that it will take years to repair it. Tax breaks for the wealthy, the unraveling of EPA regulations, withdrawing from the WHO, isolating the US from it’s long-term allies while embracing known dictators like Putin and Erdogan. Trump voters invested a lot by voting for him, and the fact that he is grossly unfit for office and able to lead the country in a time of crisis is uncomfortable, to say the least.

Just like Dorothy Martin’s followers who ignored the fact that the end of the world wasn’t coming, and held tighter to their beliefs to reduce “uncomfortableness,” it’s apparent that staunch Trump supporters will increase their support for him, no matter what he does or tweets, because the reality is uncomfortable, it’s painful. It’s easier to hold on tighter, rather than acknowledge that maybe Trump really isn’t a good president. It is known that during times of upheaval, times of trouble, traditional worldviews that we’ve always held onto are found to be inadequate, and no longer applicable. Change is the way of the world, but humans are creatures of habit, and not always up for change. In this way, people tend to gravitate to populist leaders who seem larger-than-life and claim to be able to fix all of our problems. Trump is a populist, a former reality TV personality, he made lots of promises in 2016 that have yet to materialize, but the uncomfortable truth is that he is ill-suited to lead our country out of it’s current nightmare.

My message to those of you who voted for Trump: I understand why you voted for him, I understand why some of you still support him, however, try to step back, and think just for a moment. Are you in a better place right now? Is our nation in a better place right now? More importantly, how has his administration affected you, your community, and the world around us? I understand that after investing hopes and dreams in a Washington outsider are hard to let go of, it’s uncomfortable to say the least, but it’s OK. Let go, let go of Trump, and support a candidate who can work to improve the lives of every American. With less than 100 days until the election, I’d say the stakes are higher this time. Things have changed, we are in a global and national crisis, and who we put in Washington in November is crucial to the state of our Democracy, and to the state of all of us.