Yeah I definitely agree but people just need to work around their methods and exploit them. Gone are the days of two belief sets of equal value coming together to make a good solution. Now it is fact/truth versus emotion. There is no more "let's respect each other" with many of them.
Obviously this doesn't mean all of them but I will say that I have yet to meet a single 18-30 year old of that mentality that doesn't focus solely and only on identity issues and the big script. Independent thought for them is literally non existent so you have to back them into a corner of their own argument by letting them have the floor and embarrass themselves.
Most of them are so used to being around like minded drones that to even hear an opposing side is something they just aren't prepared for in any manner. They get defensive because they have no confidence in themselves/their stance, they have no idea how to go off script, they have absolutely NO idea how to explain any of their stances, they know nothing about the economy, national defense, that the same people they defend want them dead and they are literally just soulless entities fluttering around and grasping for anything they can to give them meaning because they have none.
So, yeah, always just ask them to explain everything they say. Learn how to use guile and employ it as they will think you care/or are interested but in truth you are just setting them up to be dismantled.