What a great day to top up the already massive quantity of cognitive dissonance average Joe has to put up with! All normies know Bitcoin and anything crypto is dangerous, lacks any real value and it’s something not to be touched with a pole. Still, mainstream media had to explain to average Joe that the SEC did approve BTC exchange-traded funds. You can easily imagine regular Joe scratching his head - so a federal institution greenlights investments in something only criminals use, and it also bad for the environment?
Exactly, Joe, we at the SEC will allow such trade, says SEC chairman Gary Gensler, adding ominously: "Bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that's also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing."
At this point you might expect average Joe to ask Why? I mean, if terrorists use it to finance their nefarious operations why would you make it legit? Only our Joe knows better than to ask questions. Average Joe hates questions, because asking yourself things means thinking. Average Joe has been cured of his natural tendency to ask questions. Those who ask too many questions may end up looking for their teeth in the gutter. Serves them well, too, for what need do ordinary folks have to ask questions. Regular Joe knows it’s best to leave thinking to his betters. A quick scan of headlines confirms that this ETF thingy concerns Investors. Capital I. Not poor folks. Presumably it needs to be done, but only big investors are competent enough to handle such dangerous assets safely. Preferably donning a mask and using surgical gloves. Those have been shown to keep that bastard of a virus at bay so they might be useful again.
Most articles dealing with cognitive dissonance say that the mind try to reduce the clash between opposite beliefs. For normies, the conviction that crypto is bad is well entrenched. The only way to accept that it is now legal to trade in crypto-related funds is to assume that the whole news does not concern you. Only the big guys on Wall Street should handle these pesky ETF, certainly not regular Joe.
Frankly, I don’t think the masses will be troubled much by this problem. According to the current theory, cognitive dissonance is felt more acutely when it deals with issues concerning the self. Take for instance the recent pandemic. Virtually all people learn in school that we are born with an immune system that learns how to fight viruses. Yet they almost overnight accepted the official propaganda line that their immune system is useless.
Yes, Joe, you may have had a mild case of Covid, maybe you did not have any symptoms at all, but you still need a shot. (In my country they used to hospitalize and isolate perfectly healthy people who had a positive test.) If you can accept the idea that a healthy human being should be caged for weeks until they test negative, then you can easily accept that a federal institution will allow trading in digital currency used by all sorts of criminals. Just as well as you will accept that Russia invading a country to protect their people (the ethnic Russians living in Ukraine) is a bad thing, while Israel invading (unfortunately not) a country to protect their people is a good thing.
Cognitive dissonance breeds confusion and anxiety. To fight such unpleasant feelings, people will start ignoring the facts that trouble them. It is said that people uncomfortable with the cognitive dissonance they experience will shy away from conversation about disturbing topics. Or hide their beliefs. Not good for them, but certainly good for the powers that be. That’s it, Joe, don’t ask questions and keep it shut!
Sadly, it’s average Joe’s inflated opinion of himself that won’t allow him to see a way out of his predicament. The decent thing for Joe would be to accept that he bought into the earlier propaganda on crypto.
Maybe next-door Bob was right when he told me to invest in crypto and it was stupid of me to miss the boat.
No one wants to admit they were stupid or made a mistake. Joe could and should get angry at all those who lied to him. But it wouldn’t do for regular Joe to start saying the government and the media are lying to him. Better let him think such things do not concern plebs like him. Hell, he wouldn’t have any money to invest in crypto even if he wanted to. Have you looked at the prices lately?
