As an American, I would say you've basically got it right (IMO). What is most troublesome to me is how easily and consistently these dynamics are exploited. A

As an American, I would say you've basically got it right (IMO). What is most troublesome to me is how easily and consistently these dynamics are exploited. And I'm not just referring to the disinformation campaigns of the previous presidential election cycle. I'm referring to the longer term trend of "wedge issues" that have been used to distract and divide. For example, You can take a group of people who might be fairly homogenous in terms of, say, opposition to the U.S. military "adventures" around the world, but are very easily divide and distract them with abortion, guns, etc., thereby preserving the status quo with respect to the military issue.