Playing Nice? Republicans Are Kinder People Says Research
Uh-oh cowboys and girls — check that voter registration card. A big "R" on your status might just stand for "Really nice," and the "D"? Maybe "Down right mean"? According to statistics based on the General Social Survey, those who label themselves as “conservative” are nicer, happier, more generous to charities, less likely to commit suicide, and even hug their children more than those who call themselves “liberals.”
In a piece espousing this theory, Peter Schweizer says this about where the meanness might come from:
In the Sixties, we saw the beginning of a narcissism and self-absorption that gripped the Left and has not let go. The full-scale embrace of the importance of self-awareness, self-discovery and being 'true' to oneself, along with the idea that the State should care for the less fortunate, has created a swathe of Left-wing people who want to outsource their obligations to others.
How does the research show their left-handed selfish side? To find out, read more. When those surveyed were asked, “Is it your obligation to care for a seriously injured/ill spouse or parent or should you give care only if you really want to?” 71 percent of those who identified themselves as conservative said, "yes" whereas only 46 percent of those who claimed to be liberal responded likewise. And perhaps putting lie to the "bleeding heart" empathy associated with the liberal set, the answer to the question, "Do you get happiness by putting someone else's happiness ahead of your own?" 55 percent "very conservatives" said, "yes," though just 20 percent the "very liberal" did.
The jam-packed article quotes studies saying that liberals are more likely to be jealous, less likely to give to charity, and more covetous of money and status than they'd admit. Schweizer explains it like this; "Many on the Left apparently believe that espousing liberal ideals is a 'get out of jail free' card that inoculates them from the evils of the money culture."
Do you agree with Schweizer? Does the left suffer from a little stingy narcissism, or are you itching to debunk this theory as junk?
