Happiness is.... being old, male and Republican

[atommom]

What do you think of this? I really haven't found most Republicans to be all that happy, even when GW was President.

Americans grow happier as they age, surveys find. And a new Pew Research Center survey shows the tendency is holding up as the economy tanks.

Happiness is a complex thing. Past studies have found that happiness is partly inherited, that Republicans are happier than Democrats, and that old men tend to be happier than old women.

If you're thinking that Republicans are happy just because they perhaps make more money, that does not seem to be the case. The study that found Republicans to be happier than Democrats also showed that it held true even after adjusting for income.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090518/sc_livescience/happinessisbeingoldmaleandrepublican

[Fresh_Start]

1. being oblivious to human suffering and their own faults

is probably a part of it.

[supernova]

5. DING DING DING!

This is the answer.

I could be a lot happier if I were more oblivious.

[atommom]

7. you're probably onto something there. Dems are more concerned with social problems

and trying to find solutions to help... Repubs have some concern for social problems, but think everything can be fixed by making people adhere to the existing social order. Maybe the key is that they think those who are suffering brought it on themselves, so they don't have to feel bad about it.

[raccoon]

2. "old men tend to be happier than old women."

A lot of that is probably because of money. Older men are far more likely to get a good pension/retirement check than older women.

[enough]

3. If they're so happy, why are they so angry? (nt)

[SalviaBlue]

4. Its how they entertain themselves. Its like a hobby.

[atommom]

6. That was my first question too! ;) Once they get hooked on the RW media,

the pissed-offness becomes a way of life. It's kinda hard to reconcile that with their insistence that they're "happy."