“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.” -Frantz FanonBeliefs, Waste, and Daydreams
It seems to me that the avoidance of cognitive dissonance is a major cause of many of the woes of humanity. The problem that activists and atheists face is finding a way to loosen the hold people have on false core beliefs. I consider myself agnostic as I don't hold a core belief on the existence of soul, afterlife, or deities. I'm open to new evidence in either direction. However, as atheistic beliefs tend to be far less harmful than theistic beliefs, there's much less benefit from shaking them from their certainty of nothing.
Our current state of affairs is a horrendous waste of potential. Think how awesome life on this planet could be if we overcame this bullshit. If you can't imagine it, you haven't watched enough Star Trek. For starters, I still can't speak in plain language to my computer and have it draw up the schematics for a whale tank. As I both loathe and embody wasted potential, I sometimes daydream trying to think of ways to free people from their false beliefs.
What follows is one such daydream, something I'd never do - but might just make a point:
