- Politics, like religion, is a topic where there's no threshold of expertise for expressing an opinion. All you need is strong convictions.
- I think what religion and politics have in common is that they become part of people's identity, and people can never have a fruitful argument about something that's part of their identity. By definition they're partisan.
- If people can't think clearly about anything that has become part of their identity, then all other things being equal, the best plan is to let as few things into your identity as possible.
http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html