Why do so many people worship at the altar of credit cards?

I was browsing r/personalfinance and was appalled to see how many people think that credit cards are some wonderful tool that are indispensable to proper personal finance. They think that, when "used properly," these things help your "I Love Debt, and Creditors Make Lots of Money Off Me" score credit score, and serve as a safeguard against fraud and stuff.

I even saw one OP who actually stated that "you need a credit card to be a real person." A. R E A L. P E R S O N.

Don't people realize why credit card companies exist? It's not to benevolently boost your FICO. It's not to make you rich on "rewards." It's not to safeguard you from theft. It's certainly not to give you a safety net. These are just the arguments they use to get you in the door.

They exist to make money off you. Plain and simple. They create an environment which makes you feel as if you "N E E D" their product, then bank on you paying them dearly in interest and fees for the honor of letting them be your financial middleman, which you likely will, because otherwise they wouldn't be in the game at all. They apparently know better than these "personal finance" twats that humans are not perfectly logical, rational agents - you probably will not do the math, you will not curb your impulse, you will want instant gratification, you will ignore problems until they've gotten out of hand. They know human nature, and they are getting seriously rich by exploiting it. By feeding on people's tendencies and their innumeracy.

They're not your friends. Do people exist who use credit cards "rationally" and maybe derive some benefit that outweighs the interest and fees? Uh, sure I guess, idk - but people who pay off their cards every month comprise just 35% of credit card users. The majority carry debt, coming to an average of $4717 in CC debt for EVERY American adult last year. And course it should go without saying that some people are absolutely ruined by credit cards.

Cut up your cards. Live below your means. For the love of God stop buying shit. Establish a meaningful cash emergency fund. Live without cards. It's possible to do so, believe it or not. And it has many upsides.