This is a world that has seen 4+ world wars in a short period of time, mostly fought by teenagers and children. Pair that with the events of what fox demon did to konohona, and you can understand the sheer loss and battle fatigue that surrounds the generation immediately preceding Naruto's.

Peace between clans is an entirely new concept, and Naruto is growing up in a world that sees him as a monster of the past, an explosion waiting to happen to once again destroy them and their loved ones.

Naruto therefore grew up quite lonely, friendless, parentless, seemingly unloved by his own people, on the fringes of soceity, pushed away for the mere crime of his existence, for reasons that are initially completely unknown to him....

... and yet despite all this, he never gives in to bitterness or despair. He gets pushed over, ridiculed, bullied, shunned, and yet each and every time, he picks himself up and fights to be acknowledged as an equal. Not better, not worse. Equal.

He comes across as stupid and superficial, but this is a kid who understands very well the deep numbing depths of loneliness that can shape one's actions, and seeks to remove it from everyone he meets, friend or foe.

That's why I always root for Naruto. He's an idiot, but he's everyone's idiot.