And you think we have crazies in this country... dear God, what the heck is going on in England

[PatSeg]

17. Oh yes, the best solution would be

a major focus on critical thinking throughout a person's education, but as you said, that could be construed as threatening to people's beliefs systems, especially religious ones. Today we see it more and more with political beliefs as if politics WAS a religion for many people.

I agree that it is usually social support that draws people to these crazy ideas. It is like belonging to a club though actually it is more of a cult. The one person that I know who surprised us with his tendency to embrace some whacky ideas is actually a total recluse and very well read. I suppose that the combination of being alone most of the time AND the Internet has had a profound effect on him.

I've also noticed that family and/or friends who started down this path usually did so at a time when they were going through some major personal problems. Invariably, they had the TV tuned to Fox News most of the day. Add social media to the mix and you have a perfect storm.

Still perplexing, however, as I remember them they way they used to be.