CWT227 : Abstraction and polarization / Henry Ford and Hitler / Othering Obama

Well, it turns out that some people will call them anything they want, because they are easily transformed into abstract entities; things, beliefs, and malleable little labels that can be shifted around on a whim. And that's why people are so easily manipulated: Half the time, they seem to do the job themselves. Give 'em slight hints at a conspiracy theory and they'll fill in the blanks. In a way, incomplete information is almost the point. You control your own universe, and if someone comes along and exploits your own false beliefs and further manipulates the narrative so you give them money and power and target groups they don't like, then you have done your job as a "good patriotic American."