A note on political psychology [Revised 8/12/2023]:
The reason dialogue of any kind is difficult with those who embrace extreme ideology, of either left or right, is that the ideology is used to bolster weak individual identity, orgasmic impotence (see the work of Wilhelm Reich), and emotional security. Without the ideology, extremists lack the prop that keeps them functioning on a day-to-day basis. The ideology mitigates a constant feeling of inferiority (see the work of Alfred Adler). It was called “character armor” by Dr. Reich, and functional identical to biopsychological rigidity and hypertension. This is the reason that truth and facts are rejected in favor of the ideology (be it communism, fascism, racism, etc.). Sometimes this fact pattern is seen in people and public or private organizations where economic interest takes precedent over truth. This was seen with Big Pharma and the COVID mess (in fact they are still promoting lies about the “vaccine” that have repeatedly been scientifically and statistically refuted). Individuals pushing lies to protect economic interest, political power, and professional prestige, frequently are sociopathic. They have little concern or empathy for people destroyed by their lies. Individuals who are contemporary examples of this social and individual pathology are Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci, and Bill Gates. Many others could be cited on all levels of society.
Appeals to reason and good will have little chance of penetrating this ideological armor. Such appeals should almost always be made, but once a person or organization has revealed this syndrome, don’t waste your time. Only a free media asserting truth, and politics / law, can protect people from their lies.
See, among many other sources, Man in the Trap, chapter 13, pgs. 153 – 198, on “Socio-Political Character Types,” by Elsworth F. Baker M.D. (Princeton, N.J., ACO Publications); Clueless – The Great Human Disconnect by Charles Konia (Princeton, N.J., ACO Publications, 2023); The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich (N.Y., Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1980); The Function of the Orgasm by Wilhelm Reich (N.Y., Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973); The True Believer by Eric Hoffer (N.Y., Harper, 2019).