Social systems are maintained by a social consensus, the stories that people believe to be true about the society, its leaders, and themselves as members of the society. Even the most repressive government must have the willing cooperation of enough of the people to wield the guns and clubs and man the prisons and torture chambers on behalf of the state against the others in the society
Nazi propagandists deliberately employed a technique they called The Big Lie. They said, the bigger the lie the easier it is to present it repetitively , and have it be widely believed. .
Central to most religion is submission to the will of an omnipotent god whose ways must not questioned. Tyrannical government follows a similar paradigm. There is an ancient relationship between religion and monarchy in fact - kings were said to hold their power by divine right, and in some cases claimed they themselves were gods. Are those struggling for a truly free and democratic society battling some human predisposition to subordination?