"But I think it's also a means of protecting a cherished worldview. For reasons we don't fully understand, it's fairly common for people to cling to ideas like lovers, even when there are strong counter-indications of the ideas' truth or usefulness."
Well, sure, people would like to be thought of as "decent" and Americans want to be loved and be seen as generous people...whatever the actual facts may be.
At the same time, there is a dimension of history and of social and political life that goes beyond the values and limits of personal action and wishes. Many americans are completely ignorant of this dimension. It reminds me of a twelve-year old girl I tutored in math once. She could memorize the fact that 3(10)= 30, 4(10)=40, ...but she could not get that x(10) = x0. The analogy may not be entirely apt, but there is a sense in which one must understand what history means in order to be a conscious and effective historical subject. Calling history "bunk" or believing that an individual soldier handing out lollipops justifies the brutal invasion, occupation, and exploitation of a country...will just not do.
Joanna