Christian Twiste , 12/11/2007 5:08:14 PM
A new survey suggests Dems don't enjoy the same mental health as their Republican counterparts.
No wonder Democrats and liberals are clamoring for National Health Care: According to a recent survey, a lot of them are in dire need of mental help?or at least they claim to be in dire need?and, quite naturally, they?re probably looking for someone else to pay for it.
The survey, conducted by Gallup, suggests that Democrats are much less likely to enjoy the same level of self-reported mental health as their counterparts on the Republican side, and the differences are pretty staggering.
A full 58% of Republicans report ?Excellent Mental Health? compared to only 38% of Democrats. What?s more: The differences are pretty consistent across all levels of the socio-economic scale. For instance, for members of both parties making less then $50,000 per year, Republicans still report 45% in excellent mental health versus 31% for Democrats. Similar statistics hold true regardless of gender, age, level of education, church attendance, etc.
While it is important to note that the survey is based on a self-assessment of mental health?not the opinion of a professional?clearly something interesting is at play. In an age where feelings have been elevated to a status as important as facts, why do conservatives feel better about their mental health than liberals? Given the emphasis liberals place on the importance of feelings, one would be inclined to think things would be the other way around.
At the same time, we know that correlation isn?t causation, and the survey is therefore inconclusive as to whether or not being a Republican makes you think you have better mental health, or people who think they have better health become Republicans. Still, I think a fairly obvious explanation presents itself: Liberal hand-wringing. Simply put, existing in a constant state of hand-wringing over the War, the environment, President Bush, the poor, Dick Cheney, the disenfranchised, the 2000 election, Big Oil, etc. has to take it?s toll on your psyche.
Let?s face it: Liberals in general are not very optimistic people. If you believe that America?s best days are behind us, that we live in an age of constant crisis, that most of the evils in the world can be laid at our feet, and that people are starving in the streets inside and outside of the USA, it?s not easy to feel good about yourself?whether or not you personally are doing alright or even living high on the hog.
Generally speaking, conservatives see the world through a different lens. They tend to be more patriotic in the traditional ?Let?s go America sense? that your average liberal would probably describe as ?jingoistic.? I?d also say they tend to be less concerned about the general well-being of the world, and more focused on the well-being of their immediate family, friends, and community.
