Why Can't We Admit When We're Wrong?

It seems to be human nature doesn't it? Not being able to admit when we're wrong...

I don't know... I've never really had that problem. Ever since I can remember, I've been able to look at any given situation and either stand my ground on facts and logic, or admit, "Welp, I fucked up. You're right. I'm wrong." It's never bothered me to be wrong. Sometimes we're going to be wrong. It doesn't make you a bad person, or any less of a man (or woman). Why not just admit it, and move past it? But a recent exchange with a fellow Steemian made me think about the situation.

The Background

I'm not going to throw the guy under the bus and name names... there's honestly just no point to it. But he did make the unfortunate decision to re-post some garbage viral newsfeed from earlier in the year that was proven by every news station to be false, err Fake News, as it would be called now-a-days, without doing his own research. Had he taken just 2 minutes of his time, he would know that the story he was regurgitating was completely inaccurate and filled with "journalistic" narratives based on statistics they knew nothing about.

I left a very respectful, albeit straight to the point, response to his article... "This is completely inaccurate and really misleading..." I went on to state the facts of the case and how the article he was reposting was previously verified to be inaccurate. What I expected was completely different than what I received. He didn't back track his statements, or the article. He doubled down and got defensive. But why? The facts were (and are) clear.

This made me think... we do some people have so much trouble admitting when they're wrong?

The Psychology Behind It

So why can't people admit when they're wrong? Because of Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance is the mixed feeling of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. It's "knowing that you're right" despite overwhelming evidence, logic, and reason piled up against you. It's believing something in your heart, but thinking something differently in your mind. In the above situation, after being presented with the evidence and the facts, he knew he was wrong. Although he knew he was wrong, he wanted be right. He wanted to be right so bad that he would double down on falsehoods and BS narratives that he created on his own, vague arguments, and finally taking his ball and walking away; instead of just admitting that he was wrong.

Unfortunately, random articles posted on Steemit aren't the only place that we see this. We see it everywhere... especially in politics. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you can find videos of supporters of the opposite party answering questions that they believe to be in conjunction with their party line, only to be dumbfounded when the interviewer tells them otherwise.

So where am I going with this?

Just a simple question... At what point will people start thinking for themselves? At what point will people get tired of defending someone else's ideas, work, or actions? At what point will people have some integrity and start taking initiative for their own believes and put them in action?