March 21st, 2006 | 
Author: ANOTHER update: “Whiny, insecure” kids grow up to be conservatives. From the link:
Whether anyone’s feelings are hurt or not, the work suggests that personality and emotions play a bigger role in our political leanings than we think. All of us, liberal or conservative, feel as though we’ve reached our political opinions by carefully weighing the evidence and exercising our best judgment. But it could be that all of that careful reasoning is just after-the-fact self-justification. What if personality forms our political outlook, with reason coming along behind, rationalizing after the fact?
A very interesting point, and something that I’ve though about often. It goes back to the whole “nature vs. nurture” argument methinks.
UPDATE: a Pew Research poll on happiness. Republicans/Conservatives are happier than Democrats. Even when adjusted for income.
I’m not making this up. From Gallup (30 day free trial available) and Compass Points Blog:
Partisanship and Mental Health Ratings
Gallup’s aggregate data also show that partisanship is related to ratings of one’s mental health or emotional well-being, with Republicans slightly more positive than Democrats in their overall evaluations. Overall, 92% of Republicans describe their mental health positively, including a majority who say it is excellent. Eighty-five percent of Democrats describe their mental health in this way, with only 38% of Democrats saying their mental health is excellent.
Republicans also say they experience fewer days of poor mental health each month than do independents or Democrats. Republicans suffer poor mental health an average of two days per month, compared with three days among both independents and Democrats.
Tags: politics
I wonder if there’s a correlation between good mental health and personal wealth, success, and stability. Come to think of it, those attributes might lead a person to an overly confident “description” (completely subjective – thus negating the science of the survey) of their percieved mental health.
I didn’t say it wasn’t a silly survey.
Pragmatism is always more depressing than idealism.
Pragmatism or pessimism?
Pragmatism is usually the same as pessimism.
the results are based on their claims. as in the republicans CLAIMED to be happier. they don’t believe in admitting problems or going to counselling.
“Whiny, insecure” kids grow up to be conservatives? Ridiculous! Everyone knows kids inherit their political affiliation from their parents. To do otherwise would require independent thought. That’s why any hope one side has over another is f**ckin’.
Time for my old friend G.K. again:
“I believe what really happens in history is this: the old man is always wrong; and the young people are always wrong about what is wrong with him. The practical form it takes is this: that, while the old man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man always attacks it with some theory that turns out to be equally stupid.” – G.K. Chesterton, The Illustrated London News, June 3, 1922
“Chesty” Chesterton has a feel good olde time barber shoppe yarn for every occasion. He sounds like a snake oil peddler – or a similar profession – an evangelist. I hate him so much.
His name makes him sound like the salesman guy in Wizard of Oz doesn’t it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.K._Chesterton
Religious people are overwhelmingly Republican and conservative. That could have a lot to do with their “positive” outlook since religious people tend to look on the brighter side of sorrow and tragedy.
I disagree with the assertion that religious people are more conservative. I would say there’s probably more atheists in the democratic party than the republican party, but even President Obama is a devout Christian who prays to Jesus every night (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=d8v5ed1o0&show_article=1), and I would expect that to widely true of most democrats in the US.