Conservatives, are you optimistic about the future of the world?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consistent scientific studies affirm that Conservatives are more attractive sexually and physically stronger than liberals. I think that plays into scientific surveys that show conservatives to be healthier, happier and wealthier on average. The consistent scientific surveys affirming conservatives being better informed are probably just another byproduct of good breeding in general.

If this is true, how come liberal cities lead in terms of health and fitness rather than red states, which lead in obesity and diabetes?

Maybe skinny (weak) and ugly isn’t “healthy”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's been plenty of studies showing conservatives are happier than liberals. The progressive response is to usually sneer that conservatives are happier because they are content to be ignorant and ignore the suffering and pains of others. When you look at the actual data for why conservatives are happier it's because they have stronger networks of family and friends, including being part of faith organizations or living in smaller town settings where people look after each other.

I do agree the progressive mindset is trapped by its blind belief in the proper inevitability of the right side of history, and when it fails to happen, they get frustrated and unhappy. It's a classic metaphysical concept studied in political theory and one that has dominated the left in its various guises and results in an environment where things are never, ever good enough and there always needs to be a new battle to be fought. We do see this with wokery. Despite the staggering improvement in the wellbeing, material and political, of African Americans since the 1950s, progressives still go around acting as if nothing has changed since, well, 1860.

I suppose the conservative mindset is more realistic.

First of all, my eyes/ears grate at the world "liberal." I'm a leftist. I hate liberals almost as much as conservatives do.
That being said, I don't disagree that conservatives should be happier than liberals.
One counterpoint is that studies in human happiness repeatedly show that Nordic countries are happier than the United States by every metric. Now, I'm not here to debate the Nordic model (yes I know they aren't all the same, yes I know they aren't "socialist") but the fact is that there is data that shows that other countries with different economic systems show more happiness. Of course, former Soviet countries show the least amount of happiness, and some of the happier (relatively speaking) countries are dirt poor countries in Africa. But all in all, the US is kind of meh compared to other developed countries in terms of personal satisfaction with life.

So, that's a counterpoint grappling with the idea that I might assume, that conservatives should be happier with the way things are going.

NP. Wapo (I think, maybe it was another newspaper) had an article some months ago that one of the reasons Nordics are happier is that they have different (comparatively lower) expectations in life, that from an early age they are inculcated with the belief that they as individuals are not individually special. Maybe change your expectations about what you can and can’t control.

Fair point.

Interestingly, I guess the same could be said about developing countries that have relative levels of happiness. If expectations are lower, or if you don't have a sense of missing out on something, then maybe you're happier. This checks out with the studies of social media causing misery among youth as well.

But this also bolsters my argument that the so-called "American Dream" creates misery. It is an objective FACT that achieving the American Dream is not the same as it was 100 years ago or 50 years ago or even 20 years ago. American corporatism is not a meritocracy; the people who benefit from the good life do not do so from an honest day's work, they do so from investing pre-existing financial capital. Our system rewards irresponsible speculation and dishonesty, not actual value production. This is where Marx was right. Add to this the toxic positivity that infected us '90s kids who were told we could be anything we wanted to be if we just stayed in school and did our homework, and you have people waking up from the American Dream realizing it's actually a Corporatist Nightmare.

I'd rather be told from the getgo that we're all just nothing special and live without the pressure of the rat race. It seems like a much more serene existence, and maybe then we'd be more inclined to care for each other and the environment.

If your happiness is based primarily on the material you’ll never be happy.

[Anonymous]

The world is better now, and better for more people than it ever has been. From 1945 until now the power of the US has kept Global war to a simmer. We may have a war with Russia and China on the horizon. But even so we are in a great place.

[Anonymous]

If conservatives are supposedly so happy and content, then why the constant churn of fabricated right wing fearmongering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consistent scientific studies affirm that Conservatives are more attractive sexually and physically stronger than liberals. I think that plays into scientific surveys that show conservatives to be healthier, happier and wealthier on average. The consistent scientific surveys affirming conservatives being better informed are probably just another byproduct of good breeding in general.

If this is true, how come liberal cities lead in terms of health and fitness rather than red states, which lead in obesity and diabetes?

Maybe skinny (weak) and ugly isn’t “healthy”?

LMAO yeah sure they are stronger and more attractive

Only if you think a 350 pound sweaty Blubba in camo who grunts (and farts) when he stands up is strong and sexy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consistent scientific studies affirm that Conservatives are more attractive sexually and physically stronger than liberals. I think that plays into scientific surveys that show conservatives to be healthier, happier and wealthier on average. The consistent scientific surveys affirming conservatives being better informed are probably just another byproduct of good breeding in general.

If this is true, how come liberal cities lead in terms of health and fitness rather than red states, which lead in obesity and diabetes?

Maybe skinny (weak) and ugly isn’t “healthy”?

LMAO yeah sure they are stronger and more attractive

Only if you think a 350 pound sweaty Blubba in camo who grunts (and farts) when he stands up is strong and sexy.

A good example is that Trump could pound SloJoe into a pulp, only mates with world class models, is a many time club golf champion, has healthy well educated children and is Ivy Educated and mentally quick.


Joe is frail, weak, mentally gone, not Ivy educated, with sickly/unhealthy offspring.

[Anonymous]

I need to get off the Internet because I only ever hear conservatives being pissed off about liberals. I guess I'm not sure what they talk about when they're not sneering at liberals or fearing the end of what they imagine to be traditional western civilization. (Candidly, some of this has to do with my interactions with my father who, after becoming a Fox News enthusiast, couldn't go 20 minutes without complaining about Obama or Pelosi or Democrats or something -- no matter how much I tried to steer the conversation to non-political topics.)

I think a lot of what we see today in terms of anger has to do with social media algorithms and cable news (of any variety) business decisions that recognize anger and anxiety as reliable ways of attracting clicks and eyeballs. If you unplug and walk around your local city or town, chances are that things are reasonably good. What time and place in human history do you figure it was better for the average person to be alive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rural conservatives didn't move there, they didn't remove themselves. They were left behind. Anyone with bigger ideas and wanting more opportunities leaves rural America.

I think this is generally true, but obviously not a universal statement. I have plenty of friends and family who feel connected to the land and or prefer farming to suburban or urban living. That is fine, but who is living in a bubble when they are isolating in rural areas, generally in homogenius communities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If conservatives are supposedly so happy and content, then why the constant churn of fabricated right wing fearmongering?

THIS!!!!

The incessant complaining about everyone else, the leftists, the feminists, the gays, the unisex, the people of color. Everything is a complaint and they project the whole snowflake thing yet voting in the biggest snowflake in history to carry their misplaced grievance to a whole new level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP doesn't seem to have studied any history. He/she also almost certainly has not read anything Jordan Peterson has written beyond quotes in news articles or soundbites in short videos.

Anyway, my recommendation for the OP is to find a place with the type of government and social structure that he/she thinks is more conducive to a propsperous/healthy/optimistic future, and go experience it for 3 to 6 months.

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

I have read Jordan Peterson with an open mind, and Jung as well. I think JP's self-help ideas can work only to the extent your surroundings are under your control. As an individual, I do take a lot of personal steps outlined in 12 rules, but my personal betterment efforts stop where the lack of cooperation of others begins. And I don't buy his emphasis on leaning on religion.

It doesn't matter where I live and it's not like everyone gets to pick and choose what government they live under. We all share the same dying planet.

Are you the OP? I don't see how you can follow (some?) of the 12 rules for life but think Jordan Peterson wants to be the dad for lonely conservative men. Also, none of the 12 rules for life requires cooperation from others - they are recommendations on how to conduct yourself, how to regulate your own behavior to become a more productive and mentally healthy/strong individual. If you think your personal betterment is limited by the cooperation of others, then you have not read the book at all.

I'm an atheist and don't really care what the religious viewpoint of Jordan Peterson is. Besides, Peterson mainly references religion to explain his basis for morality and spiritual rituals. He does not at all argue that someone has to believe in a specific religion. The importance of spiritual reflection, meditation, and contemplation is something I engage in, even though I'm an atheist. It's an important exercise for grounding my frame of mind every once in a while.

Lastly, you live in the frigging United States of America, you can choose to go anywhere you want and no one will stop you. There are extreme left and right communities, and every shade in between, that you can enjoy to your heart's content.

[Anonymous]

Why are you taking life advice from a guy who was an active drug addict when he wrote his book?

Peterson wasn't even disciplined enough to follow his own advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you taking life advice from a guy who was an active drug addict when he wrote his book?

Peterson wasn't even disciplined enough to follow his own advice.

Peterson is a crank. He mostly espouses repurposed banal platitudes. He generally avoids speaking too specifically and, when he does say something specific, he likes to throw in qualifiers so he can't be pinned down on anything in particular. He takes obvious points and then riffs on them into "elaborate, unprovable, unfalsifiable, unintelligible theory that encompasses everything from the direction of history, to the meaning of life, to the nature of knowledge, to the structure of human decision-making, to the foundations of ethics." Ultimately, it ends up being noise.

[Anonymous]

I’ll answer your question. Just right of center and generally happy and optimistic. I am not living in a rural area.

[Anonymous]

I'm a moderate democrat and moderate in general. But I also find the state of the country absolutely depressing. I have to just not think about it most days, or it makes me sad and angry too. The gaslighting, the ignorance, the rise of an unabashedly un-Christian brand of Christianity, the slide into fascism and minority rule; it's all just pretty bad all around.

Lots of people will say you're being hysterical, the problem is you, blah blah. That's the gaslighting part. It's as bad as it seems, but I think what we need to do at this point is look out for ourselves and make sure we have an out for us and our kids and grandkids, if things get a lot worse quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If conservatives are supposedly so happy and content, then why the constant churn of fabricated right wing fearmongering?

THIS!!!!

The incessant complaining about everyone else, the leftists, the feminists, the gays, the unisex, the people of color. Everything is a complaint and they project the whole snowflake thing yet voting in the biggest snowflake in history to carry their misplaced grievance to a whole new level.

I think it's like the War in 1984. That version of propaganda and control requires an imaginary enemy.