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The Forum > Article Comments > Consistency is overhyped > Comments

Consistency is overhyped : Comments

By William Hill, published 18/4/2016

Consistency is not always a sign of something positive. People after all can be consistently awful, consistently wrong, consistently doctrinaire, consistently misinformed, consistently unelectable, consistently deceptive.

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It depends on what kind of consistency we're talking about. Australian politicians from all sides of politics have rightly been lambasted for making seemingly absolute commitments to implement certain measures, or not implement them, then doing exactly the opposite once elected. Sometimes, this is for good reason – circumstances change, or new information is unearthed. But more often, it seems either that they never intended to keep their promises in the first place, or abandoned them when this became expedient.

Often it’s because they are trapped by the media or their opponents into making absolute promises they know they can’t, or shouldn’t, deliver: like “no new taxes”.

There’s also a fine line between sticking to one’s principles, and the compromises and accommodations necessary to actually get things done in government
Posted by Rhian, Monday, 18 April 2016 6:39:35 PM
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Cognitive dissidence is very powerful.
All of us have it whether we acknowledge it or not.
Posted by phooey, Monday, 18 April 2016 8:15:13 PM
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Re phooey:

Ditto, self-pleasuring.

But we tend not to do it in public. Politicians might be the exception,on both scores.
Posted by JohnBennetts, Monday, 18 April 2016 8:53:07 PM
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I think its more an reluctance to change our conditioned beliefs and values even in the light of overwhelming evidence.
What's more we do not tolerate those who can transcend this negative tendency.
Posted by phooey, Monday, 18 April 2016 9:07:54 PM
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