Thread: Conservatives Happier Than Liberals

Conservatives Happier Than Liberals



Jeanna Bryner
Senior Writer
LiveScience.com Wed May 7, 8:32 AM ET

Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities.
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Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities.

The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others," and "This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are."

To justify economic inequalities, a person could support the idea of meritocracy, in which people supposedly move up their economic status in society based on hard work and good performance. In that way, one's social class attainment, whether upper, middle or lower, would be perceived as totally fair and justified.

If your beliefs don't justify gaps in status, you could be left frustrated and disheartened, according to the researchers, Jaime Napier and John Jost of New York University. They conducted a U.S.-centric survey and a more internationally focused one to arrive at the findings.

"Our research suggests that inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives," the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Psychological Science, "apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light."

The results support and further explain a Pew Research Center survey from 2006, in which 47 percent of conservative Republicans in the U.S. described themselves as "very happy," while only 28 percent of liberal Democrats indicated such cheer.

The same rationalizing phenomena could apply to personal situations as well.

"There is no reason to think that the effects we have identified here are unique to economic forms of inequality," the researchers write. "Research suggests that highly egalitarian women are less happy in their marriages compared with their more traditional counterparts, apparently because they are more troubled by disparities in domestic labor."

The current study was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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* Original Story: Conservatives Happier Than Liberals

Ms. Bryner and Pew Hispanic Center:

I would like to address the spin you've placed on the recent article and study titled, "Conservatives are Happier than Liberals"

Your contention that Conservatives are better at rationalizing inequalities makes it sound like Liberals are on the ethical high ground for the guilt and concern they carry over inequalities, while conservatives are bad because they don't care as much.

You see, I'm 39 now and as a younger man I was a Liberal. I was depressed most of the time and although I lived in extreme poverty, as a seven year college student on financial aid, I spent most of my extra time in politics doing my best to help minorities and women to make up for perceived historical transgressions. While I had little to give other than my time, I was focused more on other people than my own well being and progress.

I learned slowly, through many tragedies and hard knocks, that the education I had received from the public school systems, pop culture, and biased media was more focused on controlling my political beliefs than giving me actual factual information.

I used to look in the mirror each day and suffer from a nagging feeling that I might not be doing the right thing.

I had been taught that my self-worth and moral well being were defined by paying homage to the beliefs that I had many debts to pay to about every other demographic.

I had been taught to believe that I had some direct connection to the enslavement of blacks, the genocide of Indians, the abuse of women, and even the fate of the Jews under Nazi Germany, and much more! My subservience to these groups was my path to feeling better about all of the horrible things that had happened.

I think the Liberals call it, "white male privilege"? No escape right? I was guilty, not because of things I had done, but because of who I was at birth!

This was the equivalent of me walking around everyday feeling like I owed most of the minorities and women I saw $100. In turn, minorities and women were looking at me like I owed them $100!

My desires for equality were met with those practicing inequality. Many were trying to fight sexism with sexism and to fight racism with racism!

Finally, I realized that my family never slaughtered Indians, never owned slaves, and as far as I know never abused women. In fact, my family risked the ultimate sacrifice of their lives to defeat the fascists and save Jews from global extermination by the fascists!

History is a very flexible and manipulable topic, once everyone that was alive during those times have perished. Liberals manipulate history to create a false belief system designed to keep me providing for others, instead of myself or my own friends and family members.

Once I discarded the false guilt that had been placed on me, my scholastic and business endeavors greatly improved. So did my friendships and personal relationships.

Like a child that suffers sexual abuse, I had boundary issues. While I had never been sexually abused, my mind had been raped by adults with political agendas that were eager to exploit my virgin belief system.

I started to realize that much of the hardship in my life and family were actually the results of this toxic and destructive political belief system. The abandonment of traditional ethics and institutions had increased the poverty and broken hearts all around me.

Once I started to internalize my world view with a healthy sense of pride in who I was, more success followed. I have many dear friends that would be considered minorities and one of the things that allows us to be friends and equals is that they do not externalize their problems and blame me or any other demographic or historical occurrence for their situation in life.

I also have friends that I love as much as a brother or sister that I hope will read this response to you. While I have discarded the political programming I carried in my younger years, many of them still suffer from the affliction and are unable or unwilling to break free.

The brainwash put on us as children is very powerful and designed to keep us subservient and docile, as half of our wages and time are taken from us in taxes and redirected. Little do they realize that addressing inequalities through taxes is not charity on their part, since they are compelled through the force of law to give their time, and the lifeblood of their lives to others.

The Liberals have chosen to fight racism with racism. I hear the word racism and racist thrown around so flagrantly and so indiscriminately that it is apparent those using the race card seek to control the speech and actions of others with "racism" as some panacea control word like telling a dog to sit! Sometimes the word racist is hurled with such venom and labeling power that it rivals the "N" word once used in the same way against black Americans!

I still feel equality and fair treatment for minorities and women is important, but you have lost this disciple of your false religion. I am happier now and I know what I am doing now is right and what I was meant to do. The main thing that brings any anger or disappointment in my life is the abuses of the truth and the inequality perpetuating aggression of Liberals.

I'm a true Conservative now, not a Republican. I wish to conserve the things about my nation that are good and appreciated. I want my nation restored from the vast destruction of our wealth, families, and happiness by corporate sponsored liberalism.

For that to happen, everyone needs to realize that big corporations have benefited a great deal from the destruction of American families by creating three or more workers from one worker that was making a family wage.

Big corporations benefit from political correctness and Liberal politics, which allows them to market products in a one size fits all method. Liberalism has helped their profits sore as more Americans suffer the negative effects of an economic system that is turning us all into debt and tax slaves working harder and longer for less real money that we pay more of, for less in return!

While some of my friends would scoff in anger reading this, they still live in the false gestalt manufactured by corporate Liberalism.

They are like Neo dreaming in the Matrix, because it is designed to keep them unaware of how they cannot reach their full potential, due to a thousand Liberal tentacles sucking their life energy out of them.

While I am not out to convert them into Conservatives, I do wish they would take the blue pill and discard the toxic and destructive fake gestalt of corporate liberalism that will hold them and their children back from achieving their maximum potential.

I feel I can bring many more out of these shadowy and depressing dreams, because the health and survival of my nation depends on it.

So you can consider this my conservative rationalization if you like, but I'm much happier and successful than I was as a Liberal and the truth is, it is not due to rationalizations, it is because the corporate liberalism you support is Socialist bullshit.


William Gheen
www.alipac.us


Cc: All my beautiful, intelligent, liberal, dreamer friends that I still love.

bttt