Another excellent observation by Sterlin.
I would observe that
the quasi-religious nature of government dependent personality
is so universal it is almost always a waste of effort to try to oppose it.
The only realistic hope is to escape it, if possible.
As you said:
In most of these situations, I am not in a position to justify intervening or feel that it would not be worth my time to engage with this particular audience. I try to pick and choose my battles...