Reply #2: it really is cognitive dissonance

[sui generis]

they start off as authoritarian not as a character flaw, but out of mental laziness.

If you aren't responsible for your own life and the things that happen to you because "god moves in mysterious ways" or because the president said so, then you aren't responsible for the effort of thinking for yourself, and anyone who does think for themselves or think their destiny is in their own hands is a threat to that worldview.

So it's easier to say if you don't follow "ultimate" authority, you are evil and must be punished.

These guys have never cared about doing the "right" thing, just about aligning themselves with whomever is the most powerful, whether that's their angry god, their militant jesus, or their cheating lying snickering brain damaged pretzel choking bike wrecking spoiled rich kid brat playing dress up as president, who they think is "just like them".