An intriguing morsel: Republicans are happier than Democrats

St. Paul Pioneer Press ^ | 02/11/2008 | ERIC WEINER

[DoughtyOne]

Not this week they aren’t. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

[KC_Conspirator]

Democrats are filled with hate and anger. Thats part of drinking liberal Hatorade.

[ElkGroveDan]

This article makes me happy.

[MrEdd]

I feel happy!
I feel happy!

[LdSentinal]

Democrats were very happy on 9-11.

[Iron Munro]

[Chode]

of course we are... we don't suffer from BDS!!!

[Libloather]

I’m happy just because I’m not a RAT!

[Kuksool]

You wouldn’t know that by reading the posts on FR lately.

[Halgr]

To see a perfect example of this just visit DemocraticUnderground.com

Those people over there are so miserable....so dysfunctional; full of fear and hate....and the language they use just makes for futher evidence.

[ilgipper]

poll again in 12 months.

[Mr. Mojo]

All one has to do is contrast FR to DU. On the former you’ll see some biting wit/humor on almost every thread. On the latter, none — deadly serious (and profanity laced) all the time. Quite revealing.

[penelopesire]

LOL...me too!!

[taxcontrol]

If the election hinges on happiness of the nominee:

Hillary vs McCain - two cranky old folks, toss up and likely to be a very close election.

Obama vs McCain - clearly Obama would be the winner

Hillary vs Huckabee - One old hag vs a preacher turned politician. I’d have to favor Huckabee

Obama vs Huckabee - hmmm, that just might be another 50/50 split.

[/sarc]

[South40]

After virtually ignoring happiness for more than 100 years

And BEFORE this current election cycle.

[shrinkermd]

The reasons given are insufficient. The jokes that follow don’t answer the question either.

Republicans, and especially conservatives and religious believers are happier because they have a purpose in life. They feel part of the past and contributing to the future whether this be in their personal, political or spiritual lives.

Many people, we call them saints now, in the past gave up life itself willingly and happily for the purpose they believed in.

Modern liberalism is a credal faith with a litmus test series of ad hoc beliefs that feel good and seem good. They really have no real purpose in their actions even though they claim moral superiority in caring for the poor, the ignorant and the elderly. In actual fact, when surveys are made of charitable giving conservatives trounce liberal every time.

Such is life. Soren Kierkegaard, a devout but self-isolated Christian, saw humans as making choices. Sometimes not all at once. And sometimes without being aware or reflecting on the choices; but, nonetheless we make choices and among these is searching, defining and actualizing our purpose in life.

[Our man in washington]

I have a relative who is a Democrat. She had a very hard time with her first child. “I didn’t realize it would be so hard!” she complained, particularly when her child misbehaved.

I have another relative who is a Republican. “Children are born with original sin. You just have to expect they will act up from time to time, particularly when they are young.” she said. She loved being a mother with her first child.

I have a Democratic ex-relative in his sixties. He is depressed at how little time he has left.

I have a Republican relative who just turned 70. He is delighted to still have his health, and gets involved in as many activities as he can.

I have a Democrat relative who has many grown children. She is often sad that some of them haven’t turned out as she hoped.

I have a Republican relative who has a few grown children. They also haven’t turned out as he hoped, but he quips “when you plant onion seeds, you get onions. With kids, you never know.”

I had a very dear Democratic friend who had terminal cancer. She asked “why did this happen to me?”

I had a very dear Republican relative who had terminal cancer. She said “this is my lot and I will deal with it the best that I can.” (I’ll admit she was truly exceptional and I sure don’t blame my Democratic friend for not being as cheery.)

Anyway, the pattern I see is that Republicans are much more likely to understand the world isn’t ever going to be perfect. That’s one of the keys to happiness.

[wintertime]

Conservatives are optimists.

Just look at my tag line! :)

[GOPJ]

This article makes me happy.

Me too! Life is good!