Across every possible social characteristic (race, income, age, religion, sex, and even political activity), a 60,000-person survey shows conservatives are much happier than leftists, reports Nate Silver.
When asked about the status of their own mental health, only 20 percent of liberals said it was excellent, compared to 51 percent of conservatives. Meanwhile, 45 percent of liberals said their mental health was poor, compared to just 19 percent of conservatives.
Look at that — nearly half of liberals say they have poor mental health.
And I believe them.
Using these 60,000 people and a 0-100 scale (zero for poor mental health, 100 for excellent mental health), this gap between left and right persisted across every possible demographic.
“The average American self-reports at a 60 on this scale: in other words, somewhere between good and very good mental health. But liberals average a score of 53 and conservatives a 68,” Silver explains. “As you can see, the liberal-conservative gap is fairly consistent across all of these characteristics.”
Here are those characteristics:
All the characteristics you might believe explain this happiness gap, don’t — at least according to this study. Religion? Nope. Marriage? Nope. Income? Nope. Political activity? Nope. Sexual orientation? Nope. Social media activity? Nope.
Does this mean it really comes down to the fact that leftists are just a whole lot more neurotic and unhappy than people on the right?
I think it does.
Silver lays out three theories to explain this, which I believe are completely wrong.
- “Liberals are more conscientious about the suffering of other people or the conditions of the world, whereas conservatives are happy but selfish.”
- “[Liberals are] struggling or oppressed themselves and therefore favor change and a larger role for government.”
- “Liberals may express negative sentiment as a sign of solidarity with a movement that thinks there is profound injustice in the world. But then this can snowball — misery loves company — while attracting some number of people who face serious mental health challenges.”
Here’s the real reason for the happiness gap…
Conservatives understand human nature and have made peace with it. What I mean is that we get that human nature is messy, complicated, impossible to control, and therefore there’s not much we can do about it. So all we want from the world (and our government) is to be left alone. “Live and let live” is not only our motto, but it is also an attitude that breeds happiness. Giving up your desire to control what you cannot control is one of the four secrets to happiness. The other three are having a work ethic, not taking yourself seriously, and being grateful for what you have.
Leftists are genetically predisposed to a totalitarian streak where they must control everyone’s behavior within their confining idea of justice. This desire to control what cannot be controlled (human nature) breeds their unhappiness. How can anyone be happy if they get angry over someone misgendering someone else, someone voting a certain way, someone using the word “bossy,” or someone pointing and laughing at the six-foot steel pole jammed up their ass?
If there is one common trait among leftists, it’s that anyone coloring outside their behavior lines angers and frustrates them. This means they allow others to control their emotions (i.e. they get angry at someone using the term “illegal” instead of “undocumented”). People who are constantly angry and frustrated can never be happy.
Then there’s the fact that leftists have no sense of humor about themselves. A sense of humor is my first instinctive identifier.
Think back to your school days. Who were the unhappiest students? It was always the tattle-tale and the hall monitor — the bossypants kid who tried to enforce all the rules.
It’s the same in real life.
These humorless prigs key Teslas, wear pussy hats, and use COVID to rat out neighbors. It’s all about control and having a tantrum when they lose control. Leftists are spoiled babies.
Bottom line…
Conservatives look at the world as a yard full of chickens and not only chuckle at the disorder, but find comfort in that disorder, for it means every chicken is allowed to do its own thing.
Leftists look at that same yard full of chickens and choose to live a miserable life attempting to herd them.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
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