I wish scientists would discover a genetic difference between progressives and right wingers.

[raccoon]

It would help me make sense of things, such as why right wingers are the way they are.

Alas, I know it won't happen, because once in a while people change from one to the other.

[laughingliberal]

1. I don't hold out hope for a genetic explanation.

Personality disorder would explain a large number of them. Parental influence and lack of curiosity to question childhood beliefs would be another.

[wtmusic]

5. I was a Republican for a while because my Dad was.

My mom was a Democrat and an outspoken feminist, and they spent their whole lives together. Go figure.

[laughingliberal]

8. I have a good friend whose husband is a committed RW

Not sure how she handles that but she did tell him during the Bush years she would not discuss politics with him. Fortunately, their adult offspring are all progressives.

I am amazed at the people in my age group who became Republican because their parents were and have never bothered to notice that it's not the same party today.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. It may or may not be genetic, but conservative people are more nervous

Nervous people are more likely to be conservative in nature, and politics, according to a study from the US.

Liberal-minded individuals, on the other hand, appear to be more "chilled out".
...
Researchers found that people who reacted fearfully to sudden noises and scary pictures were more likely to be in favour of defence spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq War.

Those who were measurably less sensitive tended to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism and gun control.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Health/Nervous-right-wing-fear-conservative-liberal-experiment/Article/200809315102942?lpos=Health_Article_Related_Content_Region_7&lid=ARTICLE_15102942_Nervous_right_wing_fear_conservative_liberal_experiment

[wtmusic]

7. Or maybe being conservative makes you more nervous

If I listened to Glenn Beck every day I'd have high blood pressure too. Chicken/egg? :shrug:

[PADemD]

3. They have done studies.

Interesting article.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-sci-politics10sep10,0,2687256.story

Also

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x134217

[FreakinDJ]

4. They did ! - it's called IQ

[Uben]

6. Shouldn't be hard.....

....just look for the gene that controls reason. progressives will have it and wingnuts won't!

For instance, if I marketed a pill that would make farts smell like bacon, would you buy it?

How about if that pill was in suppository form?

[get the red out]

9. I am pretty uptight too

I get as uptight as a tea bagger over the right, to be honest. Those people are irrational and I worry a lot about what will happen to this country should they even get a majority back in Congress. The rules are always skewed for them, like it takes 51 votes to pass something in a Republican Senate but 60 to pass it in a Democratic Senate. They have all the odds in their favor and their policies are a nightmare.

But at least what I fear is something worth fearing. Insanity is my cousin who was basically calling for real Christians to rise up and take the country over on Facebook the other day, he's gone all into hating Muslims since the Ft. Hood shooting and thinks the President is a fascist.. This guy is my first cousin and we grew up in the same sub-division and after years of exposure to right wing radio I simply don't know this guy at all and find him terrifying. The propaganda on the right can turn people into the most bizarre caricatures. He is a college graduate and was always such an easy going person growing up. He now describes himself as being farther right than even most "Christian Conservatives". I think that right wing media and the political extremism of Churches today causes this kind of sick behavior. My parents said that the "church" he attends is far more about extreme right politics than religion.

So we are both frightened people, and that may be genetic (our poor Grandmother was always worried); he is frightened because right wing media and his church tell him to be, along with telling him his status as a white male is threatened (in so many words) and through that our country is going to hell and his daughter's life will be destroyed. Meanwhile I am scared to death of people like him and the special privilege they have over the rest of us no matter how elections seem to go. And if they win will we even maintain a democracy?

[CanonRay]

10. I think it's called a frontal lobe.

[thereismore]

11. Afraid it's nurture, not nature. nt

[crazyjoe]

12. dick size?

[tblue]

13. I've always thought there was some kind of physiological difference.

We are almost like two separate species. I think, generally, we are hard wired one way or another. Some people can change and become conservative or liberal due to environment/personal circumstances. But for the most part, you're just born a certain way.

You either have empathy for people you don't know or you don't, and it takes extraordinary events to alter that. I really believe this. And it explains why it is so hard for liberals and conservatives to understand one another.

I also think this capacity is of a higher order and therefore liberals are more evolved. ; )