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Elphaba is on to something. We experience things in terms of duality, or pairs of opposites...good and bad, right and wrong, us and them, etc. Similarly, it seems that we distinguish, and prefer, "our" group over those outside of it. In my own life, I have come to prefer or advocate my school over others, my town over others, my state over others, all without any strong justification...and the list goes on. Regardless of the origin of our beliefs, we tend to reconcile information with our beliefs, even in the face of strong contradictory evidence...witness the discourse on this forum, for example, as has been noted. Psychology has long recognized this principle. People are capable of getting past this, but not in sufficient numbers to effect a sea change. In short, we are pretty much SOL.
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