Maybe they sense a gap between who they are and who they imagine they deserve to be; maybe they want to feel stronger than circumstances allow; maybe they want to protect a privileged status. To explain their need—both its causes and its possible remedies—people look for a narrative, a framework for understanding the world that “directly promise[s] a sense of mattering and purpose to those who subscribe.” The most alluring narratives are often those that “portray the world in clearly defined, black-and-white terms that allow no room for ambiguity or cognitively demanding nuances.” Hate,
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