General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What I've learned about conservatives in the last few months [View all]Martin Eden
(12,870 posts)And it is too deeply embedded (especially in older people) to be yanked out.
For decades the right and their mouthpieces at Faux News and talk radio have been hammering home a narrative that paints "The Left" as America-hating godless socialists and paints "conservatives" as the champions of family values, Christian faith, and American patriotism.
Their entire political belief system is built on this false foundation, and they sincerely believe that Barack Obama is a greater threat to this country than any external enemy. It is human nature to hate the traitor within with more intense passion than the enemy without.
Millions of voters have been completely duped by the constant stream of rightwing propaganda. They are impervious to facts and rational arguments that challenge their political beliefs, because it is extremely, extremely, difficult for anyone to admit to themselves they have been played for a fool and everything they have embraced is a steaming pile of lies.
These people are not intrinsically sociopathic, but they have been conditioned to behave that way in the political areana. It is a mob mentality in which normal people can be manipulated into serving the interests of the real sociopaths who pull their strings.