If neuroscience and psychology can teach us anything about politics [not to mention, religion], it's that we should approach the sport with a sense of irony and an appreciation for contingency¹. Yes, crucial issues are at stake—let's not forget that—but the political process is rarely about these issues. Instead, it's about reaffirming an irrational identity and tickling those gut feelings that operate at a very subterranean level. After all, [one] can easily imagine an alternate childhood [of a particular individual] that would have [then] tilted [him] towards [a different political philosophy than the one he currently holds to be so imperishable].

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¹ — uncertain because of uncontrollable circumstances; determined by conditions or circumstances that follow