It never ceases to amaze me how people can see the same evidence and jump to entirely different conclusions based on their preconceptions and prejudices and their ability to distinguish anecdote from statistic. Democracies do best in egalitarian societies where people value education. They're not doing well in most currently (precariously) democratic societies because of increasing inequity and hostility toward education.
It's the same way people come to religion - people experience 'revelation' or some sort of event. Nearly all ascribe it to the default god of their family or their society and mistake that for 'evidence'. Some of us just say "huh, cool, I experienced a rare moment, and it was cool" without feeling the need to ascribe it to anything.
It's also the same way most people pick their political affiliations. I was just speaking to a friend whose wisdom I generally respect, but it turns out he's libertarian... I also know he was traumatised by deprivation in his youth... I suspect that substantially colours his interpretation of the world around him. Just as my experiences colour mine.