Your original comment and question was: "So, I thought King was a fan of the hero myth and distrusted institutionalization. But, he's a Democrat.
Doesn't that create some serious cognitive dissonance?"
By asking the question, perhaps people have assumed (not unfairly so) that you're inviting opinion in response to your musing? Normally free-thought and tangents arise when folks begin to look at an issue. I suppose the members here are quite used to engaging in free-flowing conversation and a couple of the responses have sparked some attitude--on both sides.
Perhaps you could phrase your question in a different way?
Personally, I don't believe it does create cognitive dissonance in the 'man', but perhaps it does show the range of the writer? I think first and foremost, Stephen follows where the story leads and often has little control on a concious level, that's not to say that his personal beliefs don't have an influence, because I'm sure they do... but it has always been about the story for him--and if that might seem to the reader to conjure up theme's that don't appear to spring directly from the man? Well then, all the better as far as he is concerned.