OPINION:
If happiness had a political tag, conservative would be its name.
So goes the findings of a massive study published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal that found conservatives are happier than liberals — a circumstance that comes because those of right-leaning ideologies are far more likely than their left-leaning counterparts to grasp the “meaning of life.”
The heck, you say.
But yes, this is indeed a classic case of science proving common sense.
First, the science: “According to the study, which compiled survey results from more than 50,000 participants in 16 countries, people who identified as political conservatives were more likely to find meaning and satisfaction in their lives than liberals were,” Life Science reported.
Happiness, for the purposes of the study, was defined and measured by determining two facets — day-to-day satisfaction and an overall sense of meaning for one’s life.
And now, the common sense: Take a look around, and who’s protesting wildly in the streets?
Leftists.
Unhappy, disgruntled, outraged, angry, flag-burning, fire-starting, free-speech-shouting, intolerant leftists. Apparently, according to science, they just can’t seem to help themselves.
Some of them — some of the supporters of California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters — just staged vicious, fiery antics outside her California office, setting fire to the U.S. banner and screaming “black power,” all the while counter-protesting Oath Keepers who didn’t even show to the scene.
One of them — Whoopi Goldberg — just rocked national headlines for an outlandishly rude exchange on “The View” with invited guest Jeanine Pirro that reportedly wrapped with a backstage f-bomb demand for the good judge to exit, and never return.
Those are just a couple recent examples.
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For months now the news cycles have been filled with stories of leftists shutting down conservative speech on college campuses; Black Lives Matter types taking to the streets to protest police; pink-hatted feminazis demanding an end to Donald Trump’s administration; House and Senate Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer plotting charts to resist all-things-Trump; Barack Obama supporters working behind scenes and not-so-behind the scenes to press against Trump and toward progressivism; and of rising socialists — Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — peddling their class warfare politics, pressing for more protests, more uprisings, more rebellion against all-things-conservative.
These are not the actions of happy people.
“Finding meaning in life is related to the sense or feeling that things are the way they should be and that there is a sense of order,” said study author David Newman. “If life feels chaotic, then that would likely dampen your sense that life is meaningful.”
Yes, liberals have been in a tailspin. Their normal expectations have been shocked by chaos.
Democrats have never accepted the failure of their chosen one, Hillary Clinton, to win the White House. Since, they’ve watched with growing alarm as Trump has dismantled much of the progressive-socialist gains of the previous administration.
They’ve felt their power recede with each passing week.
Now? Now, they tremble to think that voters have developed a taste for “America First” politics, and that this president may win another four years — another Republican-controlled Congress, another chance to influence the country’s courts.
No wonder liberals are so unhappy. No wonder they feel adrift at sea, unable to grasp life’s meaning, incapable to control their chaotic environments.
Trump’s in the White House, Republicans control Congress, and more of the same could be on the way for the next few years. Too bad, so sad, what a scary, chaotic, unhappy world for the left.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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