Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton inspire a lot of passion (good and bad) from non-traditional selections of people. People not typically interested in politics have dived in this year with the belief that the fate of the free world is up for grabs (both sides believe this). Every day that goes by gives them more evidence of this being the case.
Cognitive Dissonance is when the facts you experience are forced to fit with your narrative regardless of their actual applicability to the beliefs. Essentially science tells us that we humans are stubborn enough to reject facts (or even subvert them) in the face of internal beliefs.
This is why individuals can feel personally attacked by generalized messages. If you say something about a group of people it will be true for some but not for others – and those some will often become extremely offended by the characterization. No offense was meant in the first place yet somehow it was received.
We are amazing people. Just something else that we need to watch for in ourselves.