The Happiness Chronicles

In yet another “We’re better than you” op ed piece,  Arthur C. Brooks focuses on some study that finds that Conservatives are way happier than Liberals. I am not going to try real hard to argue this one, because frankly, I. Do. Not. Care.  Who is happier is not really  And in the end?  Nothing saps happiness like arguing whether conservatives or liberals are happier.  Technically, he is not basing this on any actual study… he is basing it on a variety of polls that seem to back up what he already believed about the two.  A friend sided with the family aspect.  Of course, plenty of liberals have families…some were even born into them! Of course, one of the reasons of that gap is discounted (without any proof) without a thought:

(The percentages are 53 percent to 33 percent, according to my calculations using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, and almost none of the gap is due to the fact that liberals tend to be younger than conservatives.)

Really, I wonder how these polls phrased their questions.  Granted, I am not surprised a conservative would latch onto this, after all, Liberals are quick to leap on any poll that shows Conservatives are stupid.

On top of that, I would note that happiness is not necessarily an indicator of the rightness of your ideology.

Frankly, I think the study and the people focusing on it are missing the point.  It is not family or religion.  The real find is that Conservatives will lie when asked questions about their feelings to avoid appearing weak.  🙂