Leafy Elephant's Foot
You can't disentangle Politics and Religion. Why? One answer is: we people are fundamentally irrational, our motivations are unattached to those structures of reason which have so dominated the thought processes of Enlightenment Thinkers. The other answer runs this way: Don't you dare tell me what my self interest is. A stern warning wrapped in rugged individualism and very healthy, and a sad day when the serried ranks of stalwart legions disgrace themselves and runaway. At times like this we wait for our leader to admit we are not worthy of his magnificence so we can take no notice rather than face the shame of admitting we were wrong to follow him. Give it time.
