If I squint hard and am willing to lie to myself, I can believe whatever I choose to, and can disengage from any argument to the contrary, even when the argument makes sense. When this approach begins to fail, I can reinforce it by posting my belief online, and be comforted by the "likes" I get. I can also seek out sources and sites that share the same belief, and that yell it at a volume level that assures me they must know what they are talking about. I can congregate online with others and we can simultaneously shout the belief, until no sound from outside can reach us. We can pat each other on the back as we shoot down the occasional peep of dissent that sneaks in past the din of our own echoing opinion.

The merger of self-deception and social media frees me from the pain that used to come in those moments when I realized that facts did not support my belief, and I had to find ways to modify it--which caused great disruption to me and to my friends who also had the same belief. I now have a way turn off the discomfort that used to nearly paralyze me. In the past, alcohol and drugs together were barely able to accomplish this.

I have to admit, there still is a part of me inside that occasionally refuses to go along with this way of being sure that my beliefs are not threatened. That part can be tricky. I have had to use my best defenses against it. One of the most powerful ways that I have found to fight against it is to come up with religious reasons for why my beliefs are right. This allows me the added advantage of being able to label those who challenge my beliefs as evil--maybe even of the devil. There are lots of other people who are eager to confirm for me that my beliefs are the ones that God himself endorses. I love listening to those people and having them around. They are good people, in an evil world.

Still, that part inside is persistent. One time, it even dared to question my religious beliefs--I mean, the beliefs that I had protected by wrapping them in religious ideas. This part tried to get at me in the most devious way I can imagine. It appeared to me, inside my conscience, as though it were Jesus himself! It asked me things like: "Are you sure I would have agreed with the things you are saying that I stand for?"; "Are you sure that I would always agree with you and your friends and never with the people who disagree with you?"; and, "Do you think it will ultimately matter if what is really true is different from the internal map that you are using to guide you in your decisions--both in this life and (by your own admission) the next one too?"

Like I said, that part is really sneaky. I am working at it, though. Hopefully, before long, I will figure out a way to make that part be quiet, so I don't have to hear it at all.