I think most people take a political side without conscious thought. Once they are there, they are stuck because politics makes people stupid.
I know people who are genuinely better people than their politics would indicate. But, since politics makes them stupid, they are incapable of critical thinking about what they are supporting. Again, they are stuck.
They've supported a side, and they don't want to (or can't) admit they were wrong. They can't change sides. They certainly can't think outside the government box.
Some of them are shocked when a politician from "their team" acts like a member of "the other party", but all I see is a politician acting like a politician. I'm not shocked by that any more than I am shocked to see a moth acting like a moth. When Trump acts like a Democrat, it's because he's always been a Democrat, and Democrats are statists just like Republicans are, not because he is acting against his nature.
People don't act against their nature- they show you what their nature is by how they act.
I want to tell these people that their favorite politician has more in common with the politician they hate most than with themselves. But they wouldn't hear it if I told them. Politics makes them deaf to spoken reason and illiterate to written words.
It's not necessarily because they are bad people. They've been brainwashed. They've been tricked. Politics has made them stupid. They are trapped in that death spiral, and there is no escape unless they pull themselves out of it.
All I can do is be there to grab their hand if they realize the position they are in and reach out for help. Otherwise, you can't rescue those who don't admit they're in trouble.
Tips are nice.
