Here's my theory. Human beings need to struggle. We cannot luxuriate in our comforts unendingly and be happy. We need some kind of fight, some sacrifice, some obstacle to overcome. So we will create struggles for ourselves. And there are two ways to do that.
The first is the healthy way. Starting a family, for example, is a healthy way to create struggle and give yourself opportunities for sacrifice. By starting a family, you make your life more difficult and complicated but you get love, meaning, and purpose in the bargain.
And then there are the smaller undertakings. The little things people can do to purposefully -- and in a health way -- make their lives a little harder than they need to be. Gardening, hunting, fixing your own plumbing, making meals from scratch, whatever.
But what happens when someone rejects all of these fruitful and constructive outlets? They still have the human need for struggle, everyone does. Instead they create struggle in unhealthy and destructive ways.
A lot of people do this by randomly ruining their relationships, creating drama where it doesn't need to be, and convincing themselves that everyone is out to get them. We all know people like this. The protesters are in this camp, doing a version of this same thing.
They are fulfilling their need for struggle and sacrifice by making up an elaborate fable about oppression and persecution. They are convincing themselves that they are in a fight for their lives. It's all hallucinatory. But it satiates a deep human desire.
