While I agree, I do think this underestimates the power of a person's subconscious. The details outlined in the article might not be explicitly called out in

While I agree, I do think this underestimates the power of a person's subconscious. The details outlined in the article might not be explicitly called out in the gamer's mind, but might set a subconscious expectation for it to be the case; that "America is a superpower". When this expectation isn't met in reality, then the user might find themselves defending the position that "America is great" without them ever realizing why they hold that position in the first place.