I have a new appreciation for conservatives who believe in "me first" politics. They believe the haves should keep what they have, the have-nots should stop looking for hand-outs, and that's the way it is. It's ugly, selfish, and short-sighted. But it's honest. #cdnpoli 1/8

I've been wondering why so many otherwise lucid right-wingers believe insane things about progressive leaders and politics. They can't accept it's about helping people and redistributing wealth. They believe in satanic, pedophiliac, supervillain Socialism. Why? #cdnpoli 2/8

My theory is that intelligent people who can see human suffering, and who understand they have enough to share but don't want to share, suffer from cognitive dissonance. They want and need to believe they are good, but also know they are selfish. So what to do? #cdnpoli 3/8

Right-wing conspiracy theories resolve this cognitive dissonance. If the left isn't really about helping the less fortunate, but about control, destroying family cohesion, undermining democracy, eating babies, etc. then the selfishness of the right is excused. #cdnpoli 4/8

Cognitive dissonance, and the need to resolve contradictory information, is incredibly powerful. It can lead to profound mental illness. So in a literal sense, this emerging strain of conspiracy-fueled conservatism is a sickness with an identifiable cause. #cdnpoli 5/8

The reason I'm more appreciative of "me first" conservatives is because their self-honesty protects them from this illness. They aren't confused or sick. They're selfish. But so are we all, sometimes. It's a question of degree. And that's a conservation we can have. #cdnpoli 6/8

We need to make it more okay to be selfish. We don't need to celebrate it but we need to stop equating it with moral failure. If we force people to choose between agreeing they are bad people, and believing in insane conspiracies, too many will land on conspiracies. #cdnpoli 7/8

The instinct to look after ourselves first, and our families, isn't all bad. It's part of what motivates us. But the need to look after everyone, also, is what keeps us decent. We can and must work harder to strike a balance. Because the alternative is terrifying. #cdnpoli 8/8