Cognitive Dissonance in Taos

On Sophrosyne

Apparently, Taos News staffer, Mighty Matt Van Buren, is the victim of “cognitive dissonance.” The theory of cognitive dissonance, developed by social psychologist Leon Festinger, describes a syndrome wherein the victim reshapes reality to accommodate a belief system, a system based largely on a web of desire and emotions, this despite the overwhelming evidence that a contrary state of affairs exists.* For instance, Mighty Matt, under the headline “Córdova faces attorney’s fees after lawsuit dismissed” wrote that “[Judge] Abigail Aragon said she will grant motions to dismiss Taos Municipal School Board member Arsenio Córdova’s lawsuit against several of those involved in his attempted electoral recall.”

Yet, on the contrary, according to Arsenio Cordova’s attorney, Alan Maestas, the judge made no decision whatsoever but will take ten days before ruling on the merits of the case or consider claims from either side regarding attorney fees. In other words, there was no decision (my emphasis).

Prior to the yesterday’s ruling and indicative of The Taos News’ attempt to reshape reality came when a letter from Secretary of Education Garcia was reproduced with the addition of typos, misspellings, and slurs meant, however inadvertently, to hold up both Garcia and Cordova to public ridicule.

The continuing hysteria in the community, surrounding the school board, confirms the way prejudicial belief systems becomes reality when the perpetrators cannot confront and accept the evidence of a contrary point of view. Author Ron Suskind (“The One Percent Doctrine” and “The Way of the World”) once quoted a George W. Bush senior advisor, who said, “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” The Taos News has created an alternate reality that confirms the beliefs of prejudicial nay-sayers.

Contrary to the political and prejudicial drama surrounding the case depicted by The Taos News, concerning the Three Free Taos School Board members, the conflict has much deeper reality-based and quantifiable roots. As this writer has argued before, “Much of the drama revolves around a power struggle, issues of culture, and glib remarks about tortillas. But the real source of conflict arises out of the debate about the reasons for the historically poor performance of local students during the last decade. The race to the bottom at the Taos Municipal Schools is a remarkable testament to failure. Enrollment is down, administrative salaries are up. Auditor Hector Balderas and his crew are completing a forensic audit. Department heads, according to a letter from the AG, may have fiddled federal funds. For years, the finance department has been balancing the budget on the backs of Special Needs students—contrary to federal regs.”

The remarks in the above paragraph are based on facts in documents, test scores, statistics, audits, and reports by PED, letters from the Attorney General and federal agencies, and so forth. Now that Representative Bobby Gonzales and Mayor Darren Cordova, aided by the news media, have allegedly lobbied and convinced Governor Bill Richardson to order Secretary Garcia to act to suspend the board—regardless of the facts–we can expect more conflict, flame throwing, and cognitive dissonance. The taxpayers, however, are getting stuck with the bill and the students were forgotten…long time passing.

The State of Massachusetts ultimately apologized for the famed hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Hunts. By then, of course, innocents had been persecuted and families ruined.

Despite my rather dim views of the situation above, I was much pleased to attend a meeting at the Kit Carson Electric boardroom Thursday, April 29, with a group of interested citizens. KCE CEO Luis Reyes provided us with documentation and guidance as we discussed Coop issues in a reasonable manner. We did not discuss politics but focused rather on the laws of physics and finance, engineering and measurable data. It was an enlightening and educational meeting, lightened by humor and good will. The participants said they were particularly satisfied with the discussion, largely due to Reyes’ transparency.

In Greek, the word for clarity, “Sapheneia” and wisdom, “Sophia,” have the same root. The exercise of the former can lead to “Sophrosyne” or moral sanity. I slept better last night, knowing there is still some sanity flowing through an unblocked acequia in the community. And the lights came on early this morning when I got up thanks to the semi-miraculous work of our local Rural Electrical Cooperative.

*This morning’s post was inspired by James Surowiecki’s ” The Financial Page: Deja Vu” (New Yorker, May 3, 2010).