And the Winner(s) of the First "(As Yet Unnamed) Award ..

for Cognitive Egocentrism are (drumroll, please):

The Owner, Editor and Staff of Haaretz.

It was inevitable, really, that the first Festinger Award should go to the Newspaper for 'Thinking People,' who think alike. Aside from a few tokens, rarely does one find a better exemplar of writers and pundits who will pay any price (if others are paying), bear any burden (as long as they're not carrying), deny any fact, ignore any reality so long as they maintain their absolute conviction that they are absolutely right and that, by definition, the rest of the world must agree with them. Yesterday's editorial only bears this out. The Solons of Schocken Street treated us to this:


This is the time to demonstrate openness and generosity. Israel must give the cease-fire a chance, and not bring about its collapse through unnecessary military operations, as has happened more than once with past cease-fires. The order of the day must now be: Cease the fire, both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank.

Never mind the occasional Kassam in Sederot, or the danger to Jews on either side of the Green Line. Nothing will move Haaretz from its absolute conviction that the Palestinians are not really proud Muslims and irredentist nationalists. They are, if we could only see beyond their own words and behavior, post-National cosmopolitans, such as are the...owner, editor and staff of Haaretz.

Now, consider the definition of Liberal Cognitive Egocentrism:

The projection of good faith and fair-mindedness onto others, the assumption that “other” shares the same human values, that everyone prefers positive sum interactions. In a slightly more redemptive mode, LCE holds that all people are good, and if only we treat them right, they will respond well. This is a form of empathy that, like MOS, aspires to the radical victory of justice, and robs the “other” of his or her own beliefs and attitudes. It projects onto rather than detects what the “other” feels.

In light of the above, Haaretz has been deemed worthy to receive this first "(As Yet Unnamed) Award for Cognitive Egocentrism," and is entitled to all rights and privileges pertaining thereto (et omnis signia et jura quae ad hunc gradem pertinent).

[In fact, there was serious consideration given to awarding them the First Festinger Award but the committee felt that it might go to their heads, אויב זיי האבען געהאט קעפ.]