Conservatives = Hitler According to Berkeley Study

Conservatives = Hitler According to Berkeley Study

Are you kidding me? Four researchers from Berkeley, Stanford, and the University of Maryland have come out with a study which purports to show that conservatives want to make sure everyone is unequal and that conservatives love to repress people in the name of “terror management.”

07.22.2003 - Researchers help define what makes a political conservative

Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that 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

Ok. How about these descriptions instead?

Conservatives value continuity and an understanding of the past and believe in personal achievement. That conservatives come from a base which includes
*Direct Communication
*Belief in Morality
*Making Decisions
*Preference for Resolution to Open-Ended Conflict
*Confronting Danger

[These researchers] analyze[d] the literature on conservatism.

The psychologists sought patterns among 88 samples, involving 22,818 participants, taken from journal articles, books and conference papers. The material originating from 12 countries included speeches and interviews given by politicians, opinions and verdicts rendered by judges, as well as experimental, field and survey studies.

And what literature is that? Which journals? Which conferences? Which books? There are so many ways this sample could be biased it boggles the mind. Which countries were involved at which time periods? Verdicts of judges in what types of cases? Not to mention the pre-existing bias that could have been built into the “survey studies” they examined. Certainly they did not use these texts (Liberal Bias Permeates College Texts, Professor Warns -- 07/23/2003).

The avoidance of uncertainty, for example, as well as the striving for certainty, are particularly tied to one key dimension of conservative thought - the resistance to change or hanging onto the status quo, they said.

Respect for tradition? Respect for the written laws s opposed to legislation from the bench? Knowing a good thing when they see it? Are these alternative ways of describing the same data?

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, they wrote.

Is indiscriminate punishment or are conservatives choosing their targets after careful deliberation? “Cherished world views” sounds like a euphemism for the anti-liberal idea of enjoying freedoms and liberty as seen in this country. “Cherished world views” could mean liking not being blown up or shot. Interesting.

Concerns with fear and threat, likewise, can be linked to a second key dimension of conservatism - an endorsement of inequality, a view reflected in the Indian caste system, South African apartheid and the conservative, segregationist politics of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South S.C.).

Beautiful. They name three systems which have been torn down and abandoned. The Indian caste system, while existing still, has been weakened greatly over the past 100 years. Apartheid has been demolished completely. US segregation policy are now explicitly illegal. Do they have any examples of things conservatives today actually support and desire? Remember, conservatives were hugely instrumental in the passage of the very laws which now make such policies illegal.

BTW – “condoning inequality” is a pejorative way of saying that people are expected to make their own way in life. Yes, bad things happen to good people. That’s why we have organizations like the Red Cross and the many church-based charities. But in the end, you are the result of all the decisions you have made in this life. If you choose to work hard and excel, you will be rewarded. If not, you won’t. Deal with it.

Disparate conservatives share a resistance to change and acceptance of inequality, the authors said. Hitler, Mussolini, and former President Ronald Reagan were individuals, but all were right-wing conservatives because they preached a return to an idealized past and condoned inequality in some form. Talk host Rush Limbaugh can be described the same way.

Another gorgeous statement. Hitler = Mussolini = Reagan = Limbaugh. “Idealized past” means resistance to untried and theoretical policies. It means a desire to find a course of action which has a track record of positive results rather than the newest fad explanation of how the world can be perfect. As for inequality, see above.

While most people resist change, Glaser said, liberals appear to have a higher tolerance for change than conservatives do.

If change were always good, this would be a damning statement. As it is, sometimes it is good and necessary; sometimes it is positively destructive. The trick to figure out which applies in the case at hand.

The researchers said that conservative ideologies, like virtually all belief systems, develop in part because they satisfy some psychological needs, but that "does not mean that conservatism is pathological or that conservative beliefs are necessarily false, irrational, or unprincipled."

"[D]oes not mean that conservatism is pathological or that conservative beliefs are necessarily false, irrational, or unprincipled." What a statement. Overwhelming as it may seem, let’s look at it. “Does not mean . . . .” So if I say that proposing liberal ideas “does not necessarily mean” that the speaker is an immoral elitist hypocrite who wants to compel others to accept his or her “enlightened” worldview and use their own money to enforce that dictate, what am I implying?

Glaser acknowledged that the team's exclusive assessment of the psychological motivations of political conservatism might be viewed as a partisan exercise. However, he said, there is a host of information available about conservatism, but not about liberalism.

Interesting. I wonder how hard they looked. Wasn’t the object of their study predetermined to be conservatism? Wouldn’t that influence their ability and exposure to “liberal” sources?

The researchers conceded cases of left-wing ideologues, such as Stalin, Khrushchev or Castro, who, once in power, steadfastly resisted change, allegedly in the name of egalitarianism.

Yet, they noted that some of these figures might be considered politically conservative in the context of the systems that they defended. The researchers noted that Stalin, for example, was concerned about defending and preserving the existing Soviet system.

In other words, these left-wing dictators were actually conservative in nature. Remember: never let anything stand in the way of your thesis . . . even contradictory evidence.

Although they concluded that conservatives are less "integratively complex" than others are, Glaser said, "it doesn't mean that they're simple-minded."

What the heck is “integratively complex”? MS Encarta Dictionary defines “integrative” as a derivative of “integrate”: to fit in with a group: to make into a whole: to make open to all. So conservatives are not as complex as liberals when it comes to working within and being part of a group? What does that have to do with being simple-minded?

Conservatives don't feel the need to jump through complex, intellectual hoops in order to understand or justify some of their positions, he said. "They are more comfortable seeing and stating things in black and white in ways that would make liberals squirm," Glaser said.

He pointed as an example to a 2001 trip to Italy, where President George W. Bush was asked to explain himself. The Republican president told assembled world leaders, "I know what I believe and I believe what I believe is right." And in 2002, Bush told a British reporter, "Look, my job isn't to nuance."

So, because conservative have a definition of right and wrong which actually makes some things right or wrong, they are intellectually lazy? If conservatives could only accept that nothing is ever actually wrong, they would be lauded as intelligent?

Sometimes things are black and white. Sometimes they are not. For liberals (and yes, I do believe that two Berkeley, one Stanford, and one University of Maryland researchers studying conservatism for psychological tenets are liberal) to call conservatives intellectually lazy takes some chutzpah. Just look at the emotional defenses of welfare, social security, absolute moral relativism (great term, huh?), etc. Yeah, those liberal apologists are at truly dizzying heights intellectually.

School Choice Issues

School Choice Issues

Rebecca Hagelin: It's still about a better education

And what does it get for all this money? Squat – or close to it. In math, 76 percent of fourth-graders performed at the basic or below-basic level on national tests taken in 2000, and just 3 percent performed at the "advanced" level. In science, 72 percent of fourth-graders performed at the basic or below-basic level, and just 3 percent were at the "advanced" level.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Students in District schools are not achieving. And something needs to be done – now.

Dems Show True Colors

Dems Show True Colors

Holy guacamole, Batman! Can you only imagine the press reaction if the Reps had said anything remotely like this? Read on.

Open microphone catches California Democrats talking about prolonging budget crisis

Unaware that a live microphone was broadcasting their words around the Capitol, Assembly Democrats meeting behind closed doors debated prolonging California's budget crisis for political gain.

Members of the coalition of liberal Democrats talked about slowing progress on the budget as a means of increasing pressure on Republicans.

Feminists v. Breasts

Feminists v. Breasts

OpinionJournal - Thanks for the Mammaries

A manufacturer of implants, Dow Corning, became a cause célèbre for activists and the mother's milk of the plaintiffs bar. As recently as last year, the flattened company agreed to pay the federal government $9.8 million for the treatment of women with diseases studies now say were unrelated.

But the science was always dubious, and in 1999 the Institute of Medicine reported there was no basis for the claims. In fact, none of the alleged autoimmune diseases could be found to have any higher incidence in women who had had their breasts enlarged. Oh well. The fees the lawyers collected fed the pot for attacking politically unpopular industries--from tobacco and firearms to HMOs. Dow Corning eventually filed for bankruptcy.

Gray Davis Recall Vote to be Reality

Gray Davis Recall Vote to be Reality

Calif. Gov. Davis Will Face Recall Vote

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Democrat Gray Davis will have to fight to keep his job this fall in the nation's first gubernatorial recall election in 82 years, state officials announced Wednesday after tallying the results of a Republican-led petition drive that seemed farfetched just months ago.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said in a news conference that counties had reported 1.3 million valid petition signatures, well more than the 897,158 required for the recall to make it on the ballot. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante was expected Thursday to schedule an election, which could be held as early as Sept. 23.

Dems To Keep CA Gov-ship Post-Davis?

Dems To Keep CA Gov-ship Post-Davis?

It is possible that Dem Lt. Gov of CA Cruz Bustamante could decide not to call an election to choose Gray's successor and instead keep the job for himself. At least there are some Dems who think this is a bad idea according to the story.

Calif. Constitution Raises Questions About Davis Replacement

LOS ANGELES — If California voters decide to recall Gov. Gray Davis, most expect that they would also get the opportunity to decide who will replace him, but that may not be the case.

According to the state Constitution, once the recall qualifies, the lieutenant governor calls for a replacement election, and 'if appropriate,' a vote to elect a successor. Some say that gives Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante wiggle room to decide that if Davis is ousted, a replacement vote is not appropriate and he could keep the job for himself.