Conservatives are from Mars Liberals
are from Venus
Several years ago observation
provided an epiphany that testosterone may be a factor of political
ideological persuasion;
later Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put forth his oversimplified
hyperbolic “girly-men” comment about the California Legislature apparently
coming to a similar hypothesis.
Anthropology
is the study of humanity. It’s a subject
of study that encompasses the range of human experience, its aims are
to understand what people do or have done, and why. Every aspect of
human beings from their DNA molecules to their beliefs about the supernatural
from the beginnings of primate evolution to the present, pose anthropological
questions. As I continue to ponder I figured that there had to be studies
out there that had barked up this very same tree.
Applying the
insights of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology to political
leadership,
University of Kentucky emeritus
professor of psychiatry Arnold M. Ludwig in his book “King of the Mountain” came
to this conclusion: “As it happens of all the fields of human endeavor,
politics seems to be the one most rooted in primitive primate behavior. “The
striving for political power seems fueled more by secretions from man’s
nether parts his gonads and adrenal glands” according to Ludwig’s
19 year study that culminated in his book “King of the Mountain”.
A theory that
all politics has glandular roots begged comparison of Ph.D. John
Grey’s book “Men are from Mars Women are from
Venus” which explores the intrinsic differences between men and women,
I found many of the comparisons analogous to the conservative/liberal
dichotomy. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, Mars on the other the
god of war. A natural conclusion would be conservatives are from Mars
and liberals are from Venus, each has their own interpretation of history,
their own personal constitution. Both sides assert they are right and
that the other side twists facts to suit their agenda.
Analyzing
this metaphor one could conclude that if we are hard wired to react
to stimuli in a certain way, it’s not a wonder
both sides are so unpersuasive in altruistic heartfelt arguments to
sell their point of view to the other. We naturally become angry or
frustrated with the opposite persuasion because we have forgotten this
important truth. We expect the opposite persuasion to be more commonsensical
like ourselves. We desire them to want what we want and feel the way
we feel. Our respective proprietary common sense dictates this logic.
Each ideology’s values are inherently different, and
nonsensical to the other, as if we were living in two separate, but
parallel universes that exist on the same plane. It appears that Conservatives
from Mars and the Liberals from Venus are operating from a completely
different worldview, and not very likely to be persuaded by listening
to the other’s "side of the story".
A Liberals nature
reveals higher support for government safety net programs, they feel
more deeply about poverty programs,
and are more likely to support affirmative action. Liberals feel a
need to support the role of big government’s nanny state because it
just feels right, a general faith of government solutions to societal
problems. When it comes to foreign affairs and war most liberals feel
the need to appease and accommodate projecting a gross paucity of bravado.
Quite like the Roman Goddess of Love!
Conservatives
on the other hand believe that America’s
safety net has become a hammock. They think that government social
programs owe accountability of success. They believe the route to success
is through achievement a belief that you offer a hand up instead of
an escalator so once you get an individual up they will have the strength
to stand. The conservative mind thinks if you project weakness, the
weakness will be exploited, hence a value of bravado, possibly like
the God of War.
On 11-08-2000 Mel Carnahan a certified dead man was
elected junior senator of Missouri, political DNA apparently influences
our political persuasion and is our political faith to vote our persuasion
of preference, that's what we apparently do no matter the evidence.
It's our political faith In spite of evidence of incompetence, corruption,
malfeasance or death; ideological allegiance prevails over logic.
There is at least one big important difference. While
Liberals and Conservatives are shouting past one another, and disagree
vehemently on everything from foreign policy to how to greet one another
at Christmas time, they both believe that their own ideologal persuasion
is correct and the right thing for America.
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