The Pathology of Conservatives

CalCon posts another of his wacked-out buddy's rants, claiming liberals are pathological.

Interesting.

Likewise:

at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

* Fear and aggression
* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
* Uncertainty avoidance
* Need for cognitive closure
* Terror management

...these psychological factors are capable of contributing to the adoption of conservative ideological contents, either independently or in combination.

Conservatives fear change because they are unable to see the world through an open lens.

Of particular note, conservatives are xenophobic:

The terror management feature of conservatism can be seen in post-Sept. 11 America, where many people appear to shun and even punish outsiders and those who threaten the status of cherished world views...

A basic tenet of human psychology is a desire to propagate the self as being more influential, intelligent and important then other individuals. In many cases this results in forming rigid ties to one's own group and therefore, through the strength of the group, increase the sense of self of the individual. While this effect is seen across all groups, conservative groups are influenced by religious beliefs that offer the individual a complete metaphysical framework presented with such simplicity that a 5 year old can understand the basic laws of the universe. This results in the conservatives’ conflict with science. Science is constantly growing from one idea to the next based on continual testing. This resulted in a system of thought that does not want the established thought of the 19th century found unsupported by the evidence to pervade current rationale. Conservatives desire to preserve the past have come in to conflict with this form of thought.

Conservatives, such as Hitler, Mussolini, and former President Ronald Reagan, all have another common thread: thinking they're better than everyone else:

...right-wing conservatives ...preach a return to an idealized past and condone inequality in some form... one contemporary example is liberals' general endorsement of extending rights and liberties to disadvantaged minorities such as gays and lesbians, compared to conservatives' opposing position.

And as for thinking outside of the box:

...intolerance of ambiguity can lead people to cling to the familiar, to arrive at premature conclusions, and to impose simplistic cliches and stereotypes.

For example, if you take a look at the country by zip code and break it down along income and wealth lines, the richer an area the more likely it is to be conservative and Republican. Children born into this stratified world lack the capabilities of understanding that they have been born into wealth, and instead, look at the poor and not understanding how others may have been disadvantaged from day one, think they are less intelligent, less educated, and lazy. "If only they'd work harder!" conservatives think. Yet, conservatives revile the government when it attempts to level the playing field, and would rather donate huge sums of money to political causes that prevent those less fortunate from succeeding.

But such circular (and faulty) logic doesn't end there. Conservatives like to start wars in order to push their world-view on everyone, which in turn, results in a swing to conservativism:

right-wing populism may have more consistent appeal than left-wing populism, especially in times of potential crisis and instability

which creates a continual state of war. Sound familiar?

And so the question boils down to, do you want to take the conservative approach (be afraid, run from challenge, conform to a forced position -- live under totalitarian rule, in other words -- or take the liberal approach, live free, exercise personal liberty, and enjoy life -- live under democratic rule, in other words?

Thanks, I'll choose freedom.

Conservatives seem incapable of grasping the nature of our Consitutional Republic with its uncertainties (hence, constant fear mongering) , conflicts (hence, the need to put others down in a vain attempt at making themselves feel superior), and vagarities (hence, the constant charge that judges are writing their views into law rather than the messy, complicated and uncertain work in interpreting the Constitution).

And you call liberals pathological.

Read more here, and here.