paolo wrote:
As for the originary subject of the thread, about the importance of cognitive consonance or dissonance for staying together or being friends or for mating I want to add that the problem may be very serious in the case of religious affiliations. It’s not so important if one is catholic and the other anglican (Tony and his wife). I don’t know much about other affiliations like presbiterian and baptist. It’s certainly serious between christian and muslim, also because of dietary observances. Christian and Jewish is possible, and happens (my grandfather and my grandmother). Then there is the fact that in continental Europe until some time ago, with high
involvement and high electoral turnout, difference in political alignment often resulted in couples separating when their parties split, which happened all the time on the left. Friendships also were very difficult across party lines.
Thinking it over, my grandfather was only nominally Catholic and met my grandmother in the socialist party were they fought battles together for labor and women rights.
I think where there are battles to be fought, that comradeship and the shared experience of battles they have had to fight together unites people enough to transcend any other differences they may have.
There is a old joke here, "what do you call an English person who doesn't believe in God?"
"An Anglican". LOL. I know, it is a bad joke, but it does seem to sum up the feelings of a large number of people here who are nominally 'Church of England' but don't have a strong faith and just use the church for traditional weddings, christenings and funerals but otherwise never go to church. I'm not sure that religious differences are as important here as they used to be, in England and Wales anyway, although views are more polarised in parts of Scotland and northern Ireland.
Class is also a divider. The traditional class+political affiliation link seems be partially eroded. We are told by politicians that we are all 'middle class' now and maybe that is what they want us to believe so we won't become troublesome citizens and demand a more equal society but it is only recently that laws demanding that workers be paid the minimum wage was brought in and that was after much argument from employers who want to keep labour costs down. The trades unions, which used to unite workers and give them a feeling of solidarity, have had much of their power taken away from them. The link between the working class and the labour party is weakening since the labour party (New labour) stopped being so closely linked with the labour movement, which previously it always was.
Race I think perhaps causes the greatest cognitive dissonance in the UK. We are a multi-racial society but still in the newspapers there are occasionally stories of couples being attacked where one is white and the other black (or obviously not white is probably a more accurate way of putting it) and Muslims here seem to be the target of scapegoating by the tabloid press who enjoy whipping up the spite of the racist elements in society.
27 Jan 2007, 5:28 am
