I read an interesting sentence in a recent post in the New Republic online. It concerns the current state of neo-conservatism as opposed to that of it's founding era, during the hey-day of Irving Kristol and The Public Interest. In the opening manifesto, Kristol is quoted as stating: "The great danger to good government . . . is 'a prior commitment to ideology. ... For it is the nature of ideology to preconceive reality.' "
We recently discussed ideology in class, but not it's psychological role. To be a commited ideologue is to carry around a lens through which to perceive the world. It can be a useful mechanism for making quick decisions, but it can also lead one to see only what one wants to see, and ignore uncomfortable things--like reality.
