I didn't go into depth regarding why I think that the justification behind partisan think tanks may not be as innocent as "promot[ing] what they believe." Which is certainly true in some sense. Like-minded individuals may group together to promote what they believe to be true via research institutions. But here's a sentence off of Wiki that I picked up regarding cognitive dissonance:
"Dissonance is aroused when people are confronted with information that
is inconsistent with their beliefs. If the dissonance is not reduced by
changing one's belief, the dissonance can result in restoring consonance
through misperception, rejection or refutation of the information,
seeking support from others who share the beliefs, and attempting to
persuade others."
I guess no one likes to admit they're wrong. Eerie how closely this matches up with think tanks. On a side note, we better check up with our friends over at the "Flat Earth Society". Here's their purpose as a totally credible and non-partisan think tank:
"Enter the Flat Earth Society. For over five hundred years humanity has
believed the "round Earth" teachings of Efimovich and his followers.
But all hope is not lost. For through all that time, a small but diligent
band of individuals have preserved the knowledge of our planet's true shape.
And now, after centuries in the Dark Ages, we believe that mankind as a
whole is once again ready to embrace the truth that has forever been the
Flat Earth Society. Using whatever means are deemed necessary and relying
heavily on a callous disregard for the lives and well-being of our members,
we have slowly but steadily been spreading the news."
When do these become cults again?
From the source I got the picture from the article started:
"Society decided to check in on the Flat Earth Society and be all, 'Hey,
so you guys still crazy?' And the FES was all like, 'Totes.'"
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