Here is a partial list of mental gymnastics that people go through to justify their motivated but illogical reasoning. It is a shame how commonly people willfully allow themselves to slip into cognitive dissonance. Especially apropos on a day when the new president will sign so many dubious executive orders.
I invite readers to have these in the back of their minds not only when evaluating ideological opponents but also and more importantly when evaluating one’s own arguments and ideas.
Notice how much these overlap each other.
It's not wrong when our side does it - There are so many examples of this. One that came to mind when conceiving of this post is: The actions of the Canadian truckers are good/bad while the actions of BLM and the European oil protesters are bad/good. Executive orders are a prime example both in their specific content but also in the idea of extra-constitutional presidential power.
But it might work for us… (politics version) - If we elect the right people, our people, then government can work for the good.
But it might work for us… (industrial policy version) - We will subsidize the right businesses in the right way, and we will tax advantage/disadvantage in the right way to bring about the good.
Why not both? - This is when we believe that contradictory outcomes are possible. It is related to . . .
Choose one - Again, this is an example of you can’t have it both ways. In many cases it is truer to say you cannot have it either way. One topical example would be tariffs which can either raise revenue (because they are taxes) or protect domestic industry (by increasing the foreign price above the domestic price such that the foreign version is not purchased). At best the advocates for tariffs get one of these. At worst they get neither as domestic industry protection is fleeting (it insulates firms from competition making them less competitive in the longer run) and the little revenue it raises comes from domestic consumers (domestic firms capture the ability to raise prices while the tax burden falls mostly on buyers).
We can't trust their numbers - Economic, health, etc. statistics cannot be trusted when the other side is in charge or when the stats yield support for the wrong position.
There are no coincidences – It doesn't take the most hard-core conspiracy theorist to connect dots that just aren't genuinely connected. With the same motivated reasoning, people can see connections, cause and effect, and, yes, outright conspiracy everywhere they look. It also applies to the idea there is a master plan at work—by opponents (which is bad, of course) or by our side (which is good, of course). This could then spiral off into “Crazy Like A Fox” and “Master Plan” memes.
Memes are at their best when they succinctly and accurately identify or explain something. They can be overused or misapplied. Sure, they lack nuance. But feigning nuance is a fig leaf trying to cover bad reasoning.