Please Read, for all you hold near dear to your heart...

[usonian]

14. I generally agree. (and don't wait for the BUT)

All people have the potential for good and evil in them.

They don't generally square off into "opposing groups" unless conned into, or by group social pressure.

This is a very deep topic and rather than wander into Buddhism, which teaches that we are all interconnected, and places a lot of emphasis, in the Lotus Sutra, on the Buddha's "nemesis" Devadatta, who eventually achieves Buddhahood himself.

On the everyday plane, I recommend studying the reasons why people are hoodwinked, seduced and hypnotized by exploiters, and am pasting some reference material here.

People deeply down a rabbit hole are like addicts and curing them of their delusion is either for professionals, or they have to hit the proverbial "rock bottom". There is hope for others not so stuck in the mud, and I find that presenting the contradictions that they live with can possibly help them wake up. (See "Every Accusation is a Confession, referenced below.)

Read this great series on DKos
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2021/8/6/2044226/-America-2021-The-Good-the-Bad-the-Ugly
“Democracy in Crisis: We’ve Been Headed Here for Decades.” Part 1of 8
Read all 8 to get the pattern in detail.

For a look into the crooked minds of the perpetrators, read
The Psychology of Genocide by Steven K. Baum. (2008)
He groups people into three categories: Perpetrators, Bystanders, and Rescuers.
How Frickin appropriate is that TODAY?

And, to get an idea how the "cult" behaves, read
When Society Becomes an Addict by Anne Wilson Schaef,
because cult behavior shares lots of patterns with addiction.
When you read the list, you will recognize lots of folks in the Republican Party.

The "conspiracy" has been hatched by a coalition of Qvangelicals, RW politicians and oligarchs. Since the Buckley/Nixon/Reagan years, basically all ganging together to put a shine and blessing on greed. (It's actually mentioned in that series)
ALL PLAYING RACISM TO THE FULLEST (and homophobia or misogyny or whatever spikes the hate glands)

I also posted "Every Accusation is a Confession" and that relates to the Buddhist principle that what we do to others, we do to ourselves (being connected)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216777247

And that's how I try to act on DU.
Post insights, informative stuff, "messages" to deliver, and calls to GOTV,
some funny stuff, a little photo editing, and
Neat photos.

I try not to demean or demonize. (I said, TRY)
I need, we need, all the positive energy we can muster to win.

In the end, it's not so much about idealism as just being at the helm.
During the "reign of error" a lot of harm was done.

This is from the epilogue of "Stamped From the Beginning", by Ibram X Kendi.
This is of course, about racism, because racism is the engine of the Republican party.
Emphasis mine:

Protesting against racist power and succeeding can never be mistaken for seizing power. Any effective solution to eradicating American racism must involve Americans committed to antiracist policies seizing and maintaining power over institutions, neighborhoods, counties, states, nations—the world. It makes no sense to sit back and put the future in the hands of people committed to racist policies, or people who regularly sail with the wind of self-interest, toward racism today, toward antiracism tomorrow. An antiracist America can only be guaranteed if principled antiracists are in power, and then antiracist policies become the law of the land, and then antiracist ideas become the common sense of the people, and then the antiracist common sense of the people holds those antiracist leaders and policies accountable.