ASK Q - Episode: Cognitive Dissonance and Other Morning Headaches

“What the hell is cognitive dissonance—and why do I see it everywhere?”

[Scene: Zee’s Condo in Downtown Chicago. Morning.

A sleek kitchen bathed in moody sunlight. Coffee brews. A silver service set gleams on the table.]

ZEE: Q, I saw Robert Reich explain something the other day, and I think it finally clicked—but I need your brain to break it down for me, just to be sure. He said the average Trump voter thought they were voting for cheaper prices… then Walmart raised prices because of Trump’s tariffs.

The term he used was cognitive dissonance.

What the hell is cognitive dissonance?

Q: “Simple answer, Zee, or you want me to walk you through the PowerPoint version with a side of existential dread?”

[Zee takes a puff of her cigarette and blows the smoke in his direction.]

Q: Okay, simply put—cognitive dissonance is that pit-in-your-stomach feeling when the facts don’t match your beliefs. And instead of adjusting one or the other, you just squint harder and lie to yourself.

ZEE: Got an example?

Q: You voted for cheaper prices. Now everything costs more. You think it’s because of windmills.

ZEE: That is a terrible example, smart ass.

Q: Fair. Try this: rather than admit you made a mistake—God forbid—your brain takes a shortcut. It defends your ego by rewriting the story. That’s dissonance. And our world? It’s swimming in it.

Social media, politics, religion, even dating apps—it’s a buffet of contradiction. We crave logic, but run on loyalty. We want truth, as long as it doesn’t make us feel dumb.

We’re a nation with battered voter syndrome. We know he’s bad for us, but we keep crawling back… because Barney down at the VFW says it’s all a liberal hoax.

[Zee takes a sip of coffee and contemplates.]

Zee: I don’t think Trump shops at Walmart.

[Q turns the page on his newspaper and murmurs...]

“Precisely.”

The End

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