STILLWELL: Psychology Today on Cinnamon Stillwell and The "9/11 Effect"

Cinnamon Stillwell's Blog ^ | 1/5/7 | Cinnamon Stillwell

[SmithL]

Several months ago, I took part in an interview with the magazine Psychology Today for an article on political transformation, particularly in the post-9/11 landscape. My inclusion was based on an SFGate.com article I'd written on the subject, "The Making of a 9/11 Republican" as well as the online discussion group I started for fellow former lefties, the 9/11 Neocons.

The Psychology Today article, titled "The Ideological Animal," is now published in the January/February 2007 issue. With the exception of the inaccurate term "pro-war rallies" to describe my experiences as a counter-protester at leftist rallies, I felt that I was treated quite fairly. As for the author's take on right vs. left traits and what makes one become a conservative, I'm not entirely sure he captured the phenomenon nor approached the subject with complete objectivity. But I'll let readers decide.

The first few paragraphs of the article (which features most of my story) can be read here, but online subscription or magazine purchase is required to read the entire article. For those who wish to do neither, I'm excerpting the relevant paragraphs below:

The Ideological Animal

We think our political stance is the product of reason, but we're easily manipulated and surprisingly malleable. Our essential political self is more a stew of childhood temperament, education, and fear of death. Call it the 9/11 effect.

By Jay Dixit

Cinnamon Stillwell never thought she'd be the founder of a political organization. She certainly never expected to start a group for conservatives, most of whom became conservatives on the same day—September 11, 2001. She organized the group, the 911 Neocons, as a haven for people like her — "former lefties" who did political 180s after 9/11.

[SmithL]

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