Politics and Religion when mixed together creates a dangerous combination. We are all played... Way back in Europe, it was ruled by Theocratical Governments. During the Renaissance/Enlightment period, people woke up to the Bullshit; heck, even Martin Luther protested about the Catholic Church corruption (hence Protestants). That started the division between the church and the state.
Believes are so embeded in people's mind that will skew and blind the individual, even if the facts hits them on the face. That goes on both side of the fence.
Just to jab some at Raj's "quote" post...
WW1 started by the Serbs killing the Archduke of Austria and ended with the disbandment of the Turkish Ottoman Empire on what we know the Middle East (all got a piece of the action, except Germany)
WW2 and the German National Party is a product of the Treaty of Versailles (Germans force to pay for some they did not started).
Soviets and the USA play both sides of the fence with proxy wars. Russians in Afghanistan, USA created the Taliban/Mujahadin. Now the USA is neck deep in the Middle East, the Russians helping fight the same foe and then backs out of the region. The mess is so big the USA agencies are fighting against each other.
The church calls it Heresy to condemn someone on something that cannot be proved. People got excommunicated, demonized, rediculed; hunted, tied to a pole and burned for practicing witchcraft (along with homosexsuals). In politics people are labeled and ridiculed as Nut Cases, Whack Jobs, Conspiracy Theorists for exploring other possibilities or searching for the truth.
Here are the spin with other things, Technology... Apple Fanboys; Motorcycles, what about Bikers/Harley Davidson? Once you create a "Cult" the rest will follow.
Politics and Religion seems to quack the same way.
