I suppose I worry that if I dismiss this stuff out of hand, one day I'll be blind to the one for which there is proof, or I'll ignore someone else who with hind

I suppose I worry that if I dismiss this stuff out of hand, one day I'll be blind to the one for which there is proof, or I'll ignore someone else who with hindsight shouldn't have been ignored. Like rms. But you're probably right, this kind of thinking is largely self-indulgent. EDIT: a little understanding of that kind of political history definitely gives useful context to discourse on current affairs, I think. It is helpful to consider how the events of the present might be seen in 30 or 50 years time, even without knowledge of what occurs between now and then.