Well here is an interesting read. Apparently it is the second study to report that insecure toddlers and children who feel the world is out to get them are more likely to grow up to be conservative adults who are “uncomfortable with ambiguity.”
If you look at the way Republicans spin their identity and agenda in the media, this is a natural. I’m consistently amazed at how well they make themselves look like the underdog, no matter how much power they wield. I find it dishonest and irritating, especially when I see otherwise thoughtful people buy into the seemingly endless Republican persecution complex. We live in increasingly weird times, when journalistic attempts to hold public officials accountable for their actions are written off as “liberal” and “personal attacks.” In a time when the balance of power has allegedly been tipped by Christianity, it seems like honesty is the last thing our culture values.
What’s interesting to me is how an article like this will be discussed in exactly that prism, without any service to the gray areas, because we are living in conservative times. Plenty of people who would never pull a lever for a Republican don’t even seem to see this. I know some who are as politically left as left can be who still use terms like “politically correct” even though that’s been one of the best operating tools for Republicans for about 15 years. I know people who appear to think that repeating the mantras of Fox News pundits and conservative radio hosts makes them an independent thinker.
The oddest thing is that the behavioral definition of liberal in this article implies that a child has the confidence to be independent, question things, and not take it personally if they are questioned. Those are qualities I would want my child to possess. Aren’t they the qualities most people would say they want in a leader?
good take.
i’ve always been amazed at the people who can quote Rush Limbaugh or O’reily and yet think, that they are thinkers.