The difference between Liberals and Conservatives

[Givemeareason]

Sounds like the differences are even genetic. This explains a lot.

"That conservatives respond much more rapidly to threatening and aversive stimuli (for instance, images of “a very large spider on the face of a frightened person, a dazed individual with a bloody face, and an open wound with maggots in it,” as one of their papers put it).

In other words, the conservative ideology, and especially one of its major facets — centered on a strong military, tough law enforcement, resistance to immigration, widespread availability of guns — would seem well tailored for an underlying, threat-oriented biology.

The authors go on to speculate that this ultimately reflects an evolutionary imperative. “One possibility,” they write, “is that a strong negativity bias was extremely useful in the Pleistocene,” when it would have been super-helpful in preventing you from getting killed. (The Pleistocene epoch lasted from roughly 2.5 million years ago until 12,000 years ago.) We had John Hibbing on the Inquiring Minds podcast earlier this year, and he discussed these ideas in depth"

http://billmoyers.com/2014/07/17/sc...ure-out-why-conservatives-are…-conservative/#

 

[RC1970]

I would like to thank "chance" that my ancestors emerged from the "right" side of the pool of primordial slim.

 

[Givemeareason]

I would like to thank "chance" that my ancestors emerged from the "right" side of the pool of primordial slim.

I don't think that is what is being suggested. However it is being suggested that the conservative mind prefers certainty while the liberal mind is better at handling ambiguity. I think the more aggressive nature of conservatives also explains their affinity for war. And their need for certainty likely explains the persistence of fundamentalism. I would also venture to say it sounds like liberals are probably better adapted for a peaceful modern world.

 

[RC1970]

I don't think that is what is being suggested. However it is being suggested that the conservative mind prefers certainty while the liberal mind is better at handling ambiguity. I think the more aggressive nature of conservatives also explains their affinity for war. And their need for certainty likely explains the persistence of fundamentalism. I would also venture to say it sounds like liberals are probably better adapted for a peaceful modern world.

Obviously, I was being facetious.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I don't think that is what is being suggested. However it is being suggested that the conservative mind prefers certainty while the liberal mind is better at handling ambiguity.

The liberal mind lives in ambiguity, otherwise known as the 'grey area', and it doesn't really 'handle' it; it handles them. Conservatives need order. Liberals are happy with confusion, seeming to not even notice it.

My very liberal ex-wife borrowed my pickup truck once to haul some trash. She returned it with the bed all caked with mud. When I complained she said, "I didn't think it mattered." Well of course it didn't matter, it didn't bother her a bit.

So there you have it.

 

[Givemeareason]

The liberal mind lives in ambiguity, otherwise known as the 'grey area', and it doesn't really 'handle' it; it handles them. Conservatives need order. Liberals are happy with confusion, seeming to not even notice it.

My very liberal ex-wife borrowed my pickup truck once to haul some trash. She returned it with the bed all caked with mud. When I complained she said, "I didn't think it mattered." Well of course it didn't matter, it didn't bother her a bit.

So there you have it.

So you're the conservative. What were you thinking getting married to a liberal anyway?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

So you're the conservative. What were you thinking getting married to a liberal anyway?

We both goofed.

 

[Givemeareason]

We both goofed.

Sounds like you had more on your mind than getting to know each other. People do it all the time.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Sounds like you had more on your mind than getting to know each other. People do it all the time.

Guilty as charged.

 

[LionL]

What's the difference between Liberals and Conservatives? A heart.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

What's the difference between Liberals and Conservatives?

A brain.

 

[LionL]

A brain.

Yes you're right. Conservatives have neither heart nor brain. They usually have plenty of money though.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Yes you're right. Conservatives have neither heart nor brain. They usually have plenty of money though.

Very funny.

 

[HonestTruth]

the biggest difference between conservatives and liberals:



conservatives say 'order must first exist so that justice can prevail''

liberals say ''justice must first exist so that order can prevail''


The Bible, Cicero, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and our Founding Fathers all took the latter position.

 

[HonestTruth]

Yes you're right. Conservatives have neither heart nor brain. They usually have plenty of money though.

Touché!

 

[Larniavc]

I think that like in many things one's politics come down to a diathesis model.

 

[The Outlier]

Both viewpoints can be taught to anyone or reasoned by anyone with any genetics. Conservatives generally believe that man is by nature evil, which is why authority has to be held to account, and why they want guns. That's something that can be taught to anyone. Democrats tend to think man is by nature good until something influences them to be bad. They tend to trust the government, but not guns because they think guns either make people bad or enable the "few" bad people to do bad things. Both have differing views of evil- not all the time, but in general. There are contradictions on both sides. Conservatives will tend to trust another citizen with a gun but not a government official with a gun, even though logically both are human. Democrats tend to trust the government official with a gun but not the private citizen with a gun, because he could be one of the bad ones. Either way, both sides have selective trust that in some manner contradicts itself.

Personally I have no problem with the government having guns or private citizens having guns. Where would we be without police? Where would we be without a military? If they fail or get corrupted, where would we be without private citizens who can pick up the pieces? Everyone is equally bad, whether in authority or not. Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you pick a random person and make them president, giving them power will only expose whatever was there before in a brighter light. All power does is multiply whatever those existing characteristics were in the first place. The sins you put on the back burner and let fester just come out into the open more quickly. They were still there before, the person just has new opportunities that they did not have before.

 

[HonestTruth]

it is not a matter of conservatives vs Democrats but one of conservatives & liberals

 

[Givemeareason]

I think that like in many things one's politics come down to a diathesis model.

I was just reading that it may depend more on neurological factors.

“Political Orientations Are Correlated With Brain Structure in Young Adults,” was based on the results of MRI scans on participants and it is noteworthy that the results of an MRI cannot possibly be biased, but they can reveal pathological anomalies in the human brain. The results of the MRI studies show that “conservative students had a larger amygdala than liberals. Conversely, the anterior cingulate cortex of liberal students had more gray matter than conservatives.” According to biological facts, “The amygdala is active during states of fear and anxiety, and the anterior cingulate cortex is the region of the brain that helps humans cope with complexity and use abstract reasoning.” What that means is that specifically speaking, “Liberals’ brains are biologically more able to handle complex thought, and conservatives base their beliefs on fear.”

 

[Larniavc]

What that means is that specifically speaking, “Liberals’ brains are biologically more able to handle complex thought, and conservatives base their beliefs on fear.

That would fit the facts.