Conservatives are Happier

Republicans are Happier Than Democrats

Men are happier than women, older people are happier than the middle-aged, and Republicans are happier than Democrats. This according to the latest PEW survey as reported by Robert Roy Britt in Live Science.

How can this be, with the GOP in disarray?

I think it is because conservatives are better able to separate real life from politics and pop culture. We don't derive our identity from movements and causes. Conservatives also tend to be realists, understanding that mankind is irreparably flawed. World peace will never happen and ending poverty is a pipe dream. We are Hobbeseans; we know that life outside the shadow of a benign leviathan is nasty, brutish and short. It's the natural order of things. Working to carve out a clean, secure corner for ourselves and our kinfolk is rewarding. It makes us happy and gives our lives a purpose.

Liberals on the other hand, fall prey to fantastic worries like global warming, Christian theocracy, and gender equity. They see the world as it is and they don't like it: There's a hobgoblin around every corner. Every silver lining brings a raincloud. The sky is always falling.

Liberals are not content with rolling up their sleeves and cleaning up their little corner of the world. They demand gargantuan national and international movements that gobble trillions of dollars in the chimeric pursuit of eradicating every perceived evil.

Progressive agitators and their know-it-all politicos have been preaching deliverance through the state for generations. The hopeless, the helpless and the gullible are still waiting.
No wonder liberals are unhappy.

Live Science - Britt
Yahoo - Live Science - Britt

Conservatives Really are Happier

Conservatives really are nicer than Liberals. They're happier too, according to the General Social Survey. Peter Schweitzer has written a provocative article on the subject in The Daily Mail. You can read the full article here.

Here are some sample questions and responses:

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?
Of those describing themselves as 'conservative', 71 per cent said it was. Only 46 per cent of those on the Left agreed.

Do you get happiness by putting someone else's happiness ahead of your own?
55 per cent of those who said they were 'very conservative' said Yes, compared with 20 per cent of those who were 'very liberal'.

When asked by the World Values Survey whether parents should sacrifice their own well-being for those of their children, those on the Left were nearly twice as likely to say No.

Most surprising of all is reputable research showing those on the Left are more interested in money than Right-wingers.

He also observes those on the left seem more obsessed with self and feelings. Clinton-era navel gazing and a glance at Michelle Obama's college thesis confirm these observations.

Government Can't Bring You Happiness

I'm a happy person. I like being around other happy people. Arthur C. Brooks has written a book entitled Gross National Happiness about happiness and how it affects societies. He identifies a "Happiness Gap" in America that splits religious conservatives and secular liberals. Guess who's happier?


Here are the factors he identifies as causing liberal unhappiness:
- Secularism
- Overreliance on government to solve your (and societies) problems
- An addiction to security

Here are the factors he cites that make conservatives a happier group:
- Faith in God
- Work (job satisfaction)
- Marriage and Family
- Charitable giving and volunteering
- Freedom (economic, political, religious)

This is just a very brief summary. For more entertaining details, read his latest piece here.

This backs up what I've believed for a long time. People who expect things from government are angry because they are disappointed. On the other hand, people who go out and git'r done for themselves are much happier. Many of the latter group don't have much, but what they got is theirs and they got it fair and square through their own hard work. That and a loving belief in God Almighty brings a satisfied happiness that no government program can ever hope to match.