y sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other (Padover, 266).In 1820, Thomas Jefferson continued to say that which was contrary to the clergymen, when he declared the following in a letter to Mr. F.A. Van Der Kemp:The genuine and simple religion of Jesus will one day be restored, such as it was preached and practiced by Himself. Very soon after His (Christ's) death it became muffled up in mysteries, and has ever since kept in concealment from the vulgar eye... (Stewart, 19).Because Thomas Jefferson acted on his beliefs and didnt let the discomfort of cognitive dissonance between parties affect his actions, we enjoy many liberties today. Today, we can follow his example, by not being passive concerning the structures of organizations in society but by standing up for what we believe to be true.ConclusionAsk yourself, again, Is prayer in public schools incongruent with the beliefs and attitudes upon which this country was founded? If you force a student to pray a certain way, then yes, it is incongruent. But also, by not taking time to recognize and be grateful for the establishment of this country, it is incongruent. So whats the answer; should the Supreme Court have done what it did in changing the actions of the public schools to form to the beliefs of a few because of the discomforts of cognitive dissonance? Or, was there a way to maintain the attitudes and values by just altering the behavior slightly? I submit that by keeping a time where gratitude was paid (whether to God or in general), many of the beliefs upon which this country was founded wouldnt be forgotten.Cognitive Dissonance can be a good thing or a bad thing; it will be a good thing, if the individual(s) involved let their correct attitudes and beliefs guide their actions, and not the other way around....
