Word: discomforts
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...1950s, Stanford psychologist Leon Festinger famously used the term cognitive dissonance to describe the discomfort we feel when our behaviors don't align with our beliefs. Festinger found that people will go to great lengths to reduce dissonance. In one well-known experiment, those who had been asked to falsely claim that a boring task--placing spools on a tray, for instance--was fun were later found to have persuaded themselves that the task really was fun. They had crossed over from hypocrisy to something more pathetic: self-deception. In this light, getting married, having kids and advancing conservatism looks...
...young men's bodies." The military draft raises special issues. When "volunteerism" may involve paying the ultimate price, it is very tempting to say this really is something you should not be able to buy your way out of. The whole "volunteerism" crusade, in fact, starts with the discomfort people feel about how we fill our military. To some extent, this discomfort is misplaced. The armed services are more socially diverse today than during Vietnam or even Gulf War I - even including several children of national politicians. The discomfort also may be misguided: if the military has, by historical accident...
...like Albert Brooks, Andy Kaufman, Harry Shearer and Art Metrano were blazing the conceptual trail of "post-funny comedy." Kaufman would play the Mighty Mouse theme on an old phonograph, or read long passages from The Great Gatsby, or assume the guise of obnoxious Tony Clifton, all to the discomfort of an audience who might have come to hear jokes. Metrano donned a tux and sang, endlessly, the old razzmatazz "Fine and Dandy," but only the notes: "Da da DA da, da Da da DA DA..." Squirms outnumbered giggles; perplexity ensued. If someone asked, "Is that supposed to be funny...
Hillary Clinton could easily have been the Democratic McCain, a political idea whose sell-by date had passed. She still may be. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are not dynasts by nature; there is real discomfort among the faithful, with the exception of working-class women, about bringing back the Clintons. And there is suspicion, among the party's fervent antiwarriors, that Clinton remains a hawk in dove's coo. But unlike McCain, who offended his party's base on immigration and undermined his reputation for fiscal responsibility by allowing his campaign's finances to crater, Clinton has proceeded with Hillarian equilibrium...
...trend than a desire to stay fit. Armstrong's string of wins starting in 1999 might have made cycling cool, and health concerns might have made it smart, but technology made it accessible. If you've been eager to take up the sport but are put off by the discomfort of a traditional bicycle, take another look. Many of today's models come with bigger seats and higher handlebars--easing the strain on bottoms and backs--and even automatic gear shifting. Features like these have helped create a whole new line of bikes, known as hybrid or comfort, the latter...