There has always been a "Know Nothing" component to American society, but it has really taken hold in the internet age. Everyone is an expert on Google, coupled with an educational system that is less rigorous than it should be. The ignorance is not confined to the right, by the way, but it is arguably worse. It's tough also to understand those that are simply afraid of change, which is what I think lies at the heart of the conservative worldview. The world is changing and they are losing their place.
There are a couple of schools of thought that attempt to explain the divide. One is that people are divided into two groups: those that cling to the familiar and are not open to new things (although I doubt they themselves would put it that way) and those that are open. This coincides with the authoritarian mindset that occurs on the right (though there are authoritarian Democrats as well, but they are much fewer in number).
There are a couple of episodes of the Hidden Brain podcast that attempt to explain why people hold particular beliefs. And I think it is useful to try and explain rather than name-call. I don't know that it will help Democrats reach out or bring them into the fold.
It makes me sad, though, to see so many Americans fall prey to a demagogue. It does prove that Americans are no different than other cultures. No different than post- WWI Germans. It CAN happen here under the right circumstances.
I do know that some liberals do come off as smug and condescending and that's right here, among supposedly like-minded people.
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