Do you blame people who have fallen for insidious and incessant lying propaganda?

[bhikkhu]

16. "they enjoy having that point of view" - exactly

we are all somewhat programmed to believe that we read the news, listen to other people, and gather information in the form of facts...but for the mostly part we select views that make us feel good. What makes us feel good is generally what makes us feel accepted members of a community, or a community of thought, if you will.

Its fine that people have opinions and perspectives, and ideologies even, and that they pressure others to join their thought-group. That's basic human nature. We can scoff at the "herd mentality", but that's essentially how our minds are built.

I always try to rely on factual analysis and statistical evidence more than anything else, but there is more to it than that. One test is - how often do you change your mind about something, based on having learned more about it? Or - how often do you decline to agree with someone you trust on an issue, until your have looked at it in more detail? Do you enjoy finding that you were wrong about something? Do you ever end an argument by admitting an error? I enjoy learning, and one of the greatest things is to learn something new, even if it means saying I was wrong before. A lot of people simply don't ever do that, but rather close their minds to alternative viewpoints once they have adopted one perspective.