We are wired to tune out information that contradicts what we already believe (confirmation bias). It also takes effort to process information rationally, so we fall back on the familiar and the clear, such as statements that have been repeated.
Nancy Pelosi’s trip is the stuff of avoidable international crises: putting an opponent to the wall and forcing it to make a choice between a forceful response and a weak one.
Unfortunately, far too few of our leaders – or even our neighbors – are making statements like this. As a result, we’re normalizing the use of violence more and more.