I was listening to my usual mindless radio comedy this morning and
heard about an article in the Washington Post that got me thinking.
Here's the link...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202012.html
It quotes studies and statistics (always suspicious) stating that
Conservatives are happier than Liberals at all income levels, and
that they have been since 1972 when they started keeping track.
If true, it poses the question, why? The author, George Will
suggests that one of the reasons may be that when a Conservative
earns wealth he allows himself to enjoy it, while a Liberal is racked
with social guilt over the ideals he had to put aside to attain his wealth.
I've also heard it said that if you're 20 and a Conservative you
have no heart, and that if you're 30 and a Liberal you have no brain.
That would seem to imply that it is through your brain you will obtain
happiness, but isn't ignorance supposed to be bliss?
Another explanation worth exploring, I think, comes from
analyzing the attitudes of both hard core Liberals and Conservatives.
The basic Conservative mindset being 'I'll take care of mine, you take
care of yours and we'll work together when we both have something
to gain from it'. Liberals on the other hand seem to have the weight of
the world on their shoulders. They see the problems and suffering of
others and adopt them as their own. Since the world will never be empty
of such things, it seems that the true liberal heart may be doomed to
discontent indefinitely.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Being a Liberal not so liberating?
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Hi JJ!
ReplyDeleteYour Uncle John here. You are right, but it goes way farther. Liberals are so racked with guilt over the world's suffering they are willing to spend your and my money to eradicate it. (and it never works). When you try to engage them in a substantive conversation, they resort to name calling "bigot! Homophobe! Profiteer!" or whatever. They dont own land very often, but vote for every tax increase that comes down the pike, knowing they wont have to pay it. We will. Thats why, when you count federal, state and local taxes, we are over 50% tax rate now. They call health care a right, but its not like the other rights. If I want to publish a newspaper, I have to pay for it. If I want to own a gun, I have to pay for it. But with health care, some other poor sap has to pay for mine. Its not a right, its an entitlement. They should get their terms right. With gas prices going through the roof, John Kerry got his wish. We are just like Europe. The difference is the Europeans are a little freer because they can still smoke.
We can thank the 1960's for this. They are the generation that embraced socialism, and created the teachers and politicians that largely succeeded in polluting subsequent generations.
Ah, cheerfulness.
Thank you so much for commenting! I was beginning to feel like nobody was interested.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest frustration when it comes to the hefty tax burden is FICA. They take a huge chunk out of my check for FICA, plus my employer has to match my chunk. Why am I so frustrated? Because, they take it with the promise that we are paying into a plan that will help to support us when we are old, but by the time it's my turn the system will have imploded, even if they come up with some amazingly unbelievable fix I wouldn't feel right about it. I have an idea, I'm not bitter, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. If they stop taking FICA now, I will turn in my Social Security Number with the understanding that I know I will never make use of either Social Security or Medicare, Think they'll go for it?
That's a beautiful rant, unfortunately it's full of stereotypes and lovely one liner sound bites. I'm quite sure I'd be considered a liberal by your measures and yet I still pay taxes and I'm not raked with guild over the worlds problems, rather full of empathy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I own land (well me and the bank but that's the American dream isn't it?), vote down most tax increases, and pay the increases that do pass. I think health care is a right, or if not a right it is a responsibility for the government of the richest country of the world full of supposedly god Christian folk, to make sure all the people in this land are well taken care of. If for nothing else, then for the great capital machine. Healthy workers are good workers.
However, oddly enough, you imply low oil prices are your right, since the naturally increasing prices due to demand makes us more like Europe. As if Europe is in and by itself a bad thing.
Sure, they're not perfect but if they've done something good and well, it's rather egotistical of us to ignore it just because you don't like the Frenchies or some such.