2PacksAday wrote:As far as the original idea of this thread....maybe it has to do with the fact that conservatives do tend to focus on their own immediate problems, themselves, the family, and perhaps a close circle of friends. If you are doing well, the family is doing well etc...you will be simply be happier.
This in itself is not easy, life is full of those crappy days that can bring the most optimistic persons outlook down to a dismal blahhh attitude. Life is hard, it is full of failure, and it is not fair...how well you deal with those facts goes a long way in determing your happiness. If you accept them and learn to deal with them, more often than not...you will be able to roll with the punches.
If you tend to focus on other peoples problems as well as your own, you are opening yourself up to the certainty of more failure in your life. If you really do care about others {as most Lib's usually do} you are going to be disappointed more often, especially those that put others before their own interests.
A Con might look at it this way: The bills are paid, we had a nice dinner tonight, kids are doing well in school...life it good.
A Lib might look at it this way: The bills are paid, we had a nice dinner tonight, kids are doing well in school...life is good, but what about those families that are not so fortunate, what can I do to ease their burden. And what about that poor spotted owl, aparthtide, the rain forest, world hunger, the ozone...etc.
Of course those are just stereotypes of Liberal worries, used just to make a point, I don't think those things are on the mind of every single Liberal minded person.
I do wonder about the people that volunteer in homeless shelters, does the satisfaction they receive from helping others equal the depression of seeing people in that state.
I disagree. While it is true that modern conservatives are currently the classical liberals and modern liberals more often than not emulate classical conservatives, it is generally modern conservatives who staff the soup lines, man the homeless shelters, minister in leper colonies, sort out used clothing in the thrift shops, show up to help at disaster scenes (the Mennonites are always there), and give the bulk of charitable contributions.
There is burnout, yes, among people working hands on with the disabled, addicted, dying, etc. and this is why there is always room for fresh recruits. But overall, none of us who have done this work are in any way depressed by doing it. And I think this is one reason conservatives may be happier. They generally see potential for improvement and people getting better instead of seeing people in perpetual victimization and in need of resuce.
It is mostly conservatives who are looking at possibile solutions to existing problems and projecting a better way to get it done while it is mostly liberals who are wringing their hands, taking up their protest signs, gnashing their teeth that there is a problem, and crying 'the sky is falling!"
It is mostly conservatives who join the armed forces, are doing volunteer watch duty at our borders, join the Guardian Angels, organize self defense classes and firearms training and do what they can to make their family, communities, and nation safer.
Conservatives put together think tanks to do research to recognize new innovations and/or to solve problems. Liberals put together think tanks to combat conservatives.
And while all this is dealing in broad generalities and there will be many anecdotal exceptions, it ultimately comes down to the fact that talking and doing are very different things. I know many liberals that I am proud to call friend, coworker, coactivist, etc. etc. etc. and many who accomplish tremendous things. But these do seem to be in a minority among those who call themselves liberal.
