I am continually confounded by the religiosity with which most people approach public discourse. People don't think through their positions anymore; they swallow and regurgitate.

The worst part of it is that this "OUR WAY OF THINKING IS INFALLIBLE AND ANYONE WHO DISAGREES IS A HORRIBLE PERSON WHO NEEDS TO BE SILENCED" rigidity actually invites bad ideas and provides them with fertile soil in which to grow. And not just on the side of the majority, but on the side of many insidious minorities as well. In a political environment in which the free exchange and discussion of ideas is stifled, you get things like Nazism and Bolshevism. First, you're making these bad ideas attractive through censorship. A certain percentage of people will always be drawn to whatever they are told they should never be drawn to. Then, since no one is willing or allowed to engage the bad ideas, opting instead for just saying "that's wrong and you're evil", impressionable minds never get the opportunity to be proven wrong. It's a sad state of affairs.