We’re clearly living in a time of “doublethink.”

That’s when someone believes two mutually contradictory beliefs. The term comes from George Orwell’s novel “1984,” in which the government ruling party issued absurd dictums such as “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength.”

Anyone not going along with this was in for a rough time, including the novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith.

The psychological name for this is cognitive dissonance. One form of it is accepting as reality something that clearly conflicts with reason, sensory perception and common sense.… Continue Reading