It's always been this way. Politics is intensely personal. It's not so much about conflicting ideas, but rather loudly delineating social groups and whose camp

It's always been this way. Politics is intensely personal. It's not so much about conflicting ideas, but rather loudly delineating social groups and whose camp you're in. Pushing beliefs to simplistic extremes and demanding declarations of beliefs is an efficient way to make clear where yourself and others stand socially. Truth has little to do with it. Politics seems "stupid" because we're putting the cart before the horse.