“There are three major obstacles: normalcy bias, cognitive dissonance, and intellectual dishonesty.”
True - plus it’s a matter of identity. As a former lib, I thought that I was one of the “good” people, compassionate and caring. Those Conservatives were selfish, hard-hearted, etc. etc. It took caring more about honesty than my identity - and becoming a Conservative meant bewildering and disappointing - and losing the respect of many family members and friends. It definitely put a barrier between us on some levels. So getting honest is a dangerous thing for a lib and takes some courage. That’s one reason you find them defending all kinds of obviously indefensible actions of Democrats - because it’s a threat to their very identity to take even a step in the other direction.
So as Levin often says, if a lib is not open to really listening and taking in facts, or in his terms, is a “drone,” it is a waste of time to try and make them see reason.
I have found the libs I tried to share truth with to have the same baseless bigotry against conservatives as Marxists do with the wealthy, and Nazis do with Jews.
It’s like a cult of ignorant, arrogant hypocrisy.
With massive doses of projection thrown in.
Like you said, a false identity.
Marxists and Nazis think they are doing good for the world, just like liberals.
No offense meant, former lib.