We humans are a primate group species lacking the physical resources necessary for solo survival. Being part of a group - any group - is essential for us and so our brains are hardwired to seek group membership and adopt group norms without conscious thought. All of human history is nothing more than one folly after another, resulting from the fact hardly anyone is capable of coherent rational thought. Follow-the-leader is all we know how to do, regardless of our age. Whether we believe in a magic pixie, a Great Leader, national destiny, or an existential pandemic, we're all just responding on auto-pilot. It's a shame we've evolved (for very adaptive reasons) to avoid thinking whenever possible, but it's perhaps the most important fact about our species.