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Cognitive Dissonance

November 17, 2024 | 5:35 AM - Updated on November 18, 2024 | 9:37 AM
in ART, COLUMNS
30

Editor’s note: The caption for the above cartoon was adapted from a cartoon by David Sipress, who tells the story of the line — HERE.

By Gary Martin

Perhaps you’re a bit like me and have trouble holding two opposing — but I think, rational — thoughts in your head at the same time. They change from time to time. Here’s my current cognitive dissonance.

Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more than three decades. His Sunday illustrations for West Side Rag chronicle life in the neighborhood, New York City, and the Universe.

Watch for Gary’s illustrations on Sundays in the Rag and see them all here. For a broader range of Gary’s work, including animations and other motion graphics, please visit www.martoons.com

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Nancy
Nancy
1 year ago

Exactly my feelings! Nice blend of whimsy and pathos. Cognitive dissonance!

11
Reply
Judy Orich
Judy Orich
1 year ago

My sentiments exactly. Spot on Gary ! Not ready to take my head out of the sand…..

8
Reply
Neal Leibowitz
Neal Leibowitz
1 year ago

I have lost BOTH battles.

8
Reply
Laurie K
Laurie K
1 year ago

It’s as though you interviewed me and then created this week’s illustration!

8
Reply
Steve
Steve
1 year ago

Understand totally. I am boycotting all news programs. At some point, my head will come out of the sand.

8
Reply
Andy
Andy
1 year ago

Just put me in the ground and dig me up in a few years.

4
Reply
gmartin
gmartin
1 year ago
Reply to  Andy

it’ll take longer than that.

4
Reply
Joanna
Joanna
1 year ago

Nailed it, Gary. As usual.

6
Reply
Paul P
Paul P
1 year ago

You and me both, Gary.

5
Reply
OPOD
OPOD
1 year ago

I am extremely optimistic about the future of our country.

10
Reply
ecm
ecm
1 year ago
Reply to  OPOD

Yes, as Leibniz, Voltaire, and Eleanor Porter remind us, it just doesn’t get any better than this. (Unless of course, pace Émile Coué, the situation is getting even better still.) Lucky us!

0
Reply
Emma
Emma
1 year ago
Reply to  OPOD

What, precisely, are you possibly optimistic about?

4
Reply
Don
Don
1 year ago

Thanks, Gary!!!
You read my mind…

4
Reply
Anne Watkins
Anne Watkins
1 year ago

We gotta pace ourselves for the long haul. Thanks for staying in touch with all of us, Gary! You are using your platforms well.

5
Reply
David
David
1 year ago

Reading the NY Times each morning is a need and a dread.

7
Reply
Jess
Jess
1 year ago

It’s less painful to read the newspapers than watch the news on TV.

5
Reply
Best side?
Best side?
1 year ago

Some of us don’t have that luxury. We have jobs directly tied to US current events and foreign policy, so keeping pace with the news is essential. We’re taught to set our feelings aside early in our careers in order focus on critical tasks. Maybe try a bit of that, stop moping and think about next steps

3
Reply
Mia
Mia
1 year ago

Ha! I can relate. I just started reading the paper again after a ten day hiatus.

1
Reply
David
David
1 year ago

This really sums up my reaction to the election. I’m opting for sanity.

5
Reply
Stacey
Stacey
1 year ago

I look forward to Gary’s take on the world each week. He always knows just how I feel.

3
Reply
Joe Chiplock
Joe Chiplock
1 year ago

We’ll bring them both back into alignment…it may just take a while…

3
Reply
UWS Dad
UWS Dad
1 year ago
Reply to  Joe Chiplock

Probably will only take four years until swing voters realize what they’ve done… then they’ll forget again four years later and we’ll be right back in this mess.

2
Reply
lucky reade
lucky reade
1 year ago

Yup.

1
Reply
RCP
RCP
1 year ago

As the old saying goes: “Ignorance is bliss . . . until reality smacks you in the face.”

6
Reply
ecm
ecm
1 year ago
Reply to  RCP

And as I say, “Bliss is highly overrated.”

0
Reply
ecm
ecm
1 year ago

• “A well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.”
• “Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”
• “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

One has to wonder why Thomas Jefferson was so worked up over this! I mean, even without an informed citizenry, America is getting along just great now, right? (And if weren’t, we could always remain serene in our unknowing.)

1
Reply
Kathy
Kathy
1 year ago

Highly relatable!

1
Reply
OPOD
OPOD
1 year ago

Over the next 4 years our Country will undergo fundamental changes. The Washington swamp will be drained, and the Government will be run efficiently. Our food will be healthier our country will be stronger.

3
Reply
ecm
ecm
1 year ago
Reply to  OPOD

Well, it’s a big multiverse, isn’t it?

0
Reply
Kathi
Kathi
1 year ago

I want this cartoon on a Tee shirt, immediately!

1
Reply

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