"Our findings suggest though that liberals view emotion as a feature of rationality while conservatives view it as a bug. Across three studies, liberals viewed emotion as more functional than conservatives – that is, as a healthy source of information about the self that provides direction in life rather than as a weakness and a waste of time,” the study authors concluded."
"In line with previous scientific knowledge on the relative rigidity of rightist ideological beliefs, the first three studies illustrate that induced emotions have a greater influence on leftists' positions than on rightists' positions, even though the experimental manipulations affected levels of emotion similarly for all participants."
I don't know what to make of the Dem party. Either it is the aging character in Sunset Blvd loaded with makeup striving to maintain acclaim long lost or it is the nasty upstart from All About Eve. Either way, it feels like a horror movie of which I want no 'part' of.
I believe fear is driving liberals- the depth of the hatred they display typically arises from fear. In this case, fear that they have lost relevance. For many liberals, wishing and hoping are considered strategies and the fact is, they are wishing and hoping for things that most Americans don't want.
Ouch. A hard hit but well stated. Your 'coffee cup' illustration is excellent. (I hope you don't mind that I borrow it.) I'm blessed with a family like the one you describe. We are also "people with significantly different viewpoints exchanging their opinions", sometimes vehemently but always respectfully. I'm disappointed that those conversations are becoming so rare outside our 'bubbles'.
The lack of respect is a function of fear driving emotion. Going back to the coffee cup example, why would anyone who sees the handle on the left attack someone who sees the handle on the right? Fear that all cups would have handles on the right. Sounds ridiculous, but that’s essentially what is driving much of the current political speech.
I vote we walk together as Americans, and not as hated enemies that anticipate going to battle. I hope we’ve learned enough through our history that we can have different opinions and viewpoints and even survive the worst of our human nature but still come together for the common good of all Americans. It’s what millions of people died for in this country. If we return to hating the “other” then what does it mean to be an American? I take care of my brother he’s disabled. I share my resources, my income, my home, my time, and all of my efforts that I can possibly give to him. He is in the “other” category. He tries his best to be the man he used to be, but he will never be able to fully contribute to society. There are millions like him, but unfortunately, many don’t have resources, a family member to help them or some kind neighbor to assist them when they need it most. This IS who we are. WE take care of our own as a society And we take care of Americans who’ve fallen down, who are disabled, and even the ones who are marginalized. We don’t need to wait for a tragic disaster or a war to be kind, supportive, or to share our resources with others who have misfortune. When you disparage one group you disparage people like my brother because he’s in that “other” category. When you disparage one group it gets easier each time to disparage another group or someone like my brother who is already stigmatized. America has a story to tell. We can either be the villain in our story or the hero, but we can’t be both because that’s just movie magic. So, who do we really wanna be? Do we become America, the oppressor at home and abroad? Are we replacing our humanity, education and innovation with imperialism or ruling with military might, fear and intimidation. My wish for America is the same as it was when I was four years old sitting on my dad‘s shoulders during a civil rights march; that all AMERICANS fight to hold onto to the “American” values that we struggled to create and died for; and that we don’t give up or give in to the hatred, divisiveness, and influences of darker entities who are actively dismantling-the idea of America as we speak, here and abroad. Their words sound tantalizing & tough but behind the green curtain these influencers are working overtime to overwhelm American citizens and cloud their judgement with misinformation, hatred, bickering, and manufactured enemies “oh my”!! But really these entities are hoping all along that our government, economic systems, and credibility in the world would just die already! Hey there y'all, the alarm clock has gone off & it’s time to get up! Pay attention and do something about it!!!!! Our future depends on it!
Agreed- we should all walk together but that’s difficult to do when the person beside you wants to push you off a cliff, and thinks that helps him reach his destination.
You’re doing a great thing taking care of your brother. Give him all the encouragement you can.
The left left me when they started to deny material/biological reality. It is now a Marxist contagion, started by the universities & has its tentacles in every area of the west. Read Ayaan Hirshi Ali’s essay ‘Reformation: we have been subverted’. She explains all this. Thank you for an interesting article, Dave.
Glad you enjoyed it. What I will never understand is that the left is contributing to its own demise. Is there any Marxist government that is tolerant of any ideology other than the one it commands its subjects to embrace?
Apologies if you are already familiar with the following but you did ask 😊 I don’t think they believe that they are destroying society. The left, whether or not they call themselves Marxists, are acolytes of the ‘one true religion’: the unshakable belief in the struggle to establish Utopia by any and all means possible. ‘If only we could pass this law, all would be equal; if only, if only, if only….’. On and on, ad infinitum. They sacrifice meritocracy, intelligence, transparency and equality of opportunity for Queer Theory and social justice; warriors with acronyms: CRT, EDI, BLM etc and they believe that you can change sex. Look at the madness of trans. They no longer fight for equality of opportunity but equity ie equality of outcome. These ideologues are in every institution, public & private. Look at the shame of Harvard University’s President who,on being asked if students calling for the death of Jews was antisemitic, said ‘it depends on the context’ and is guilty of plagiarism, passing off the work of others as her own. I could go on and on…a bit like them.
The biggest problem with the left, in my opinion, is that its members are infected with fairytaleitis- the belief that wishing for a particular outcome will make it so and everyone will live happily ever after. Facts be damned.
Harvard had other issues as well, specifically requiring higher test scores for students with an Asian-sounding name to be admitted- all in the name of diversity and inclusion. From an article I wrote last year (https://substack.com/home/post/p-147670732 ) regarding Harvard's admission policy-- - The policy dates back over a decade and was documented in a 2017 article in The Harvard Law Review entitled, The Harvard Plan That Failed Asian Americans. Citing a 2009 study done by Thomas J. Espenshade and Alexandria Walton Radford entitled, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life.
The article states, “Put another way, Asians must perform better than all other groups to have the same chance of admission. One study showed that in order to be admitted to certain selective institutions, Asian applicants needed to score — on the 1600 point scale of the “old SAT” — 140 points higher than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics, and 450 points higher than African Americans if other factors are held equal.” .
That’s exactly what I meant, Dave, when I mentioned EDI supplanting meritocracy. This is the outcome of equity; load the dice in favour of or against a group because of their identity. Affirmative action has had the same effect since LBJ introduced it. You set up merit where it does not exist & tear it down where it does. Their ‘fairytaleitis’ is their belief, despite thousands of years of human behaviour demonstrating the opposite, that people are perfectable; that we can attain utopia. Their faith is unshakable; that’s why they are losing.
These seem relevant:
https://www.psypost.org/liberals-view-emotions-as-a-feature-of-rationality-while-conservatives-view-it-as-a-bug-study-finds/
"Our findings suggest though that liberals view emotion as a feature of rationality while conservatives view it as a bug. Across three studies, liberals viewed emotion as more functional than conservatives – that is, as a healthy source of information about the self that provides direction in life rather than as a weakness and a waste of time,” the study authors concluded."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141107091559.htm
"In line with previous scientific knowledge on the relative rigidity of rightist ideological beliefs, the first three studies illustrate that induced emotions have a greater influence on leftists' positions than on rightists' positions, even though the experimental manipulations affected levels of emotion similarly for all participants."
I don't know what to make of the Dem party. Either it is the aging character in Sunset Blvd loaded with makeup striving to maintain acclaim long lost or it is the nasty upstart from All About Eve. Either way, it feels like a horror movie of which I want no 'part' of.
I believe fear is driving liberals- the depth of the hatred they display typically arises from fear. In this case, fear that they have lost relevance. For many liberals, wishing and hoping are considered strategies and the fact is, they are wishing and hoping for things that most Americans don't want.
Ouch. A hard hit but well stated. Your 'coffee cup' illustration is excellent. (I hope you don't mind that I borrow it.) I'm blessed with a family like the one you describe. We are also "people with significantly different viewpoints exchanging their opinions", sometimes vehemently but always respectfully. I'm disappointed that those conversations are becoming so rare outside our 'bubbles'.
The lack of respect is a function of fear driving emotion. Going back to the coffee cup example, why would anyone who sees the handle on the left attack someone who sees the handle on the right? Fear that all cups would have handles on the right. Sounds ridiculous, but that’s essentially what is driving much of the current political speech.
I vote we walk together as Americans, and not as hated enemies that anticipate going to battle. I hope we’ve learned enough through our history that we can have different opinions and viewpoints and even survive the worst of our human nature but still come together for the common good of all Americans. It’s what millions of people died for in this country. If we return to hating the “other” then what does it mean to be an American? I take care of my brother he’s disabled. I share my resources, my income, my home, my time, and all of my efforts that I can possibly give to him. He is in the “other” category. He tries his best to be the man he used to be, but he will never be able to fully contribute to society. There are millions like him, but unfortunately, many don’t have resources, a family member to help them or some kind neighbor to assist them when they need it most. This IS who we are. WE take care of our own as a society And we take care of Americans who’ve fallen down, who are disabled, and even the ones who are marginalized. We don’t need to wait for a tragic disaster or a war to be kind, supportive, or to share our resources with others who have misfortune. When you disparage one group you disparage people like my brother because he’s in that “other” category. When you disparage one group it gets easier each time to disparage another group or someone like my brother who is already stigmatized. America has a story to tell. We can either be the villain in our story or the hero, but we can’t be both because that’s just movie magic. So, who do we really wanna be? Do we become America, the oppressor at home and abroad? Are we replacing our humanity, education and innovation with imperialism or ruling with military might, fear and intimidation. My wish for America is the same as it was when I was four years old sitting on my dad‘s shoulders during a civil rights march; that all AMERICANS fight to hold onto to the “American” values that we struggled to create and died for; and that we don’t give up or give in to the hatred, divisiveness, and influences of darker entities who are actively dismantling-the idea of America as we speak, here and abroad. Their words sound tantalizing & tough but behind the green curtain these influencers are working overtime to overwhelm American citizens and cloud their judgement with misinformation, hatred, bickering, and manufactured enemies “oh my”!! But really these entities are hoping all along that our government, economic systems, and credibility in the world would just die already! Hey there y'all, the alarm clock has gone off & it’s time to get up! Pay attention and do something about it!!!!! Our future depends on it!
Agreed- we should all walk together but that’s difficult to do when the person beside you wants to push you off a cliff, and thinks that helps him reach his destination.
You’re doing a great thing taking care of your brother. Give him all the encouragement you can.
The left left me when they started to deny material/biological reality. It is now a Marxist contagion, started by the universities & has its tentacles in every area of the west. Read Ayaan Hirshi Ali’s essay ‘Reformation: we have been subverted’. She explains all this. Thank you for an interesting article, Dave.
Glad you enjoyed it. What I will never understand is that the left is contributing to its own demise. Is there any Marxist government that is tolerant of any ideology other than the one it commands its subjects to embrace?
Apologies if you are already familiar with the following but you did ask 😊 I don’t think they believe that they are destroying society. The left, whether or not they call themselves Marxists, are acolytes of the ‘one true religion’: the unshakable belief in the struggle to establish Utopia by any and all means possible. ‘If only we could pass this law, all would be equal; if only, if only, if only….’. On and on, ad infinitum. They sacrifice meritocracy, intelligence, transparency and equality of opportunity for Queer Theory and social justice; warriors with acronyms: CRT, EDI, BLM etc and they believe that you can change sex. Look at the madness of trans. They no longer fight for equality of opportunity but equity ie equality of outcome. These ideologues are in every institution, public & private. Look at the shame of Harvard University’s President who,on being asked if students calling for the death of Jews was antisemitic, said ‘it depends on the context’ and is guilty of plagiarism, passing off the work of others as her own. I could go on and on…a bit like them.
The biggest problem with the left, in my opinion, is that its members are infected with fairytaleitis- the belief that wishing for a particular outcome will make it so and everyone will live happily ever after. Facts be damned.
Harvard had other issues as well, specifically requiring higher test scores for students with an Asian-sounding name to be admitted- all in the name of diversity and inclusion. From an article I wrote last year (https://substack.com/home/post/p-147670732 ) regarding Harvard's admission policy-- - The policy dates back over a decade and was documented in a 2017 article in The Harvard Law Review entitled, The Harvard Plan That Failed Asian Americans. Citing a 2009 study done by Thomas J. Espenshade and Alexandria Walton Radford entitled, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life.
The article states, “Put another way, Asians must perform better than all other groups to have the same chance of admission. One study showed that in order to be admitted to certain selective institutions, Asian applicants needed to score — on the 1600 point scale of the “old SAT” — 140 points higher than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics, and 450 points higher than African Americans if other factors are held equal.” .
That’s exactly what I meant, Dave, when I mentioned EDI supplanting meritocracy. This is the outcome of equity; load the dice in favour of or against a group because of their identity. Affirmative action has had the same effect since LBJ introduced it. You set up merit where it does not exist & tear it down where it does. Their ‘fairytaleitis’ is their belief, despite thousands of years of human behaviour demonstrating the opposite, that people are perfectable; that we can attain utopia. Their faith is unshakable; that’s why they are losing.