Why Unhappy People Become Liberals

Source

Think about the people you know who have low self-esteem. We’ll call that person The Patient. The Patient does not see value in himself. He does not consider himself worthy of advancement, of self-transcendence, or self-actualization. Instead, The Patient believes he is a bad person, undeserving of success, love, wealth, or happiness. He comes to believe, therefore, that any effort he exerts on his own behalf is doomed to fail because he is such a bad person and does not deserve any success.

But there is this tiny little voice — the ego — that just won’t stand for this self-flagellation. So the ego projects The Patient’s self-hate onto The Other as a defense mechanism. They project the self-hate onto the person who is happy, wealthy, successful, and loved. Now, it is The Other who becomes the object of hate. “Why should he have everything? What has he done to deserve all this? I’m not the bad person, he is.” As a friend’s Facebook quote said just today, “Haters don’t really hate you, they hate themselves because you are a reflection of what they wish to be.”

Then, as the pathology deepens, the projection distorts further. Now The Other is actually the cause of The Patient’s unhappiness because The Patient’s ego refuses to accept the truth that The Patient himself is the cause of his own unhappiness. Blame cannot be taken! The Patient becomes The Victim. The Other is demonized — literally transformed into a demon, an evil entity. The Other is called names. The Other is dehumanized. The Patient now self-righteously, and in the name of all that is good and just, actively seeks to destroy The Other. To punish It. To take away what It has by force. Because by destroying The Other, The Patient believes the source of their suffering will be removed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Liberal.

Allow me to take this time to divulge a little private information. I was a Liberal, or self-described Social Democrat, for a few years. During those years I was also going through a rather rough time in my life with the terrible impact of anxiety, social anxiety, panic, and depression all occurring. Suicide was on my mind most days of the week. My grades in school were mostly bad and I even suffered from what this article had mentioned.

Had someone told me it was because of this unhappy attitude of mine that it influenced my political leanings I would have called them insane, they just did not understand why the injustices in the world needed to be fixed because the majority of people are subject to oppression and it was not their fault. Everyone deserved help because we are all human beings with decency, rights, and deserve respect. That was my solid belief.

However as I slowly became more optimistic things in my life also changed. Perhaps the optimism and more joyful disposition were caused by the changes in my ideals or perhaps my ideals were changed by my new attitude. I suspect the latter. So this article struck a chord with me because there is a good chance his analysis is correct and if that is the case then perhaps it would better help to explain the problems we face in this world, how we can better help our fellow citizens, and perhaps unclench a few minds.

You're applying psychology to politics. Flaming insured.

Ron Paul 2012

reply to post by Misoir


and you are a better person for posting this, how???

reply to post by smileypants


Where did I say that by posting this it made me a better person?

Some liberals Misoir.
Some.

And can't you suppose this analysis might hold true for some conservatives?
Some?

Interesting. I think I came from a similar place. It wasn't until I started really looking into the root of the problem that I discovered I was no longer a liberal. I don't think that people are naturally born conservative. It comes with experience.

reply to post by Misoir


knowing yourself and recognizing your faults and changing is making yourself a better person you evolved

most people never do that they are all too happy just to sit there motionless and be the same creature they were born as.

benjamin franklin

"All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move "

your in the later category continue to challenge and evolve nothing wrong with that man.

But technically being rich and being ok with the fact that its earned off others backs and believing you are better in some way because of money makes you a jackelope.

KING OMECRON PERSEI 8- 2012

What are you if you're really happy and successful, but don't want government to choose how people live their lives? Because Social Conservative means Big Brother decides what you do with your life, while Social Liberal generally means people get to live their lives as they choose. So if I believe that, yet I'm happy, successful, and not jealous of others, what am I?

reply to post by dogstar23


If you are a liberal you let other liberals choose how to live your life for you.

reply to post by TerryMcGuire


You could better say this as: 'Unhappy become Liberals but not all Liberals become/are unhappy people'. And yes even the article states anyone can be unhappy not just Liberals.

reply to post by dogstar23


Social Conservative is a social viewpoint it is not necessarily "I need government to tell others to do". It is about the culture and its preservation. Perhaps it would be better to label yourself 'cultural conservative' if you do not think government needs to meddle in personal affairs but are still very much culture oriented and morally opposed to 'gay marriage/abortion/euthanasia, etc...'

reply to post by POPtheKlEEN89




This is the best argument I've heard about the whole exploited on the back of the works yelling I keep hearing. NOW!!! Wither this is true in our corny capitalisms we have now is up for debate. Personally I believe the wage hiking that we have been going through is to keep small bushiness out the market, making it so only corporations are able to hire people.

Capitalism produces products and innovations. While Communism(since socialisms is a sort of mix of both and we can disregard it in this argument) only produces labor and little else.

Most unhappy people I know are conservatives. They tend to be successful materially, but they are still very unhappy because they have a lot of crap but little soul-food.

They tend to demonize and demean liberals... ...

I found your post highly illuminating. I am not a liberal by any stretch but there are things in my life that this principle outlined can be applied to. Having now had the opportunity to have this idea so outlined, it has opened my eyes to the source of these problems. It has been a most profitable read good sir, as once you are aware of the problem you can take steps to fix it, but if you are unaware of the core of the problem, then you're just attacking symptoms.

I found your post highly illuminating. I am not a liberal by any stretch but there are things in my life that this principle outlined can be applied to. Having now had the opportunity to have this idea so outlined, it has opened my eyes to the source of these problems. It has been a most profitable read good sir, as once you are aware of the problem you can take steps to fix it, but if you are unaware of the core of the problem, then you're just attacking symptoms.

I'm deeply liberal, dammed Gov won't keep it nose out of my life *shakes fist at Gov*

So yep, I'm an unhappy liberal, but I'm unhappy because I don't believe in being told what to do, what to think or how to live my life by some known it all, and that is what makes me unhappy and what pushes me to being more liberal in my stance.

I know everyone is not the same, but those are my reasons..

reply to post by Misoir

I find it difficult giving credence to an article posted on an obviously anti-liberal website. Regardless of the author's biography, which are merely words chosen by the author, the fact that he posts his articles/blog on a website called BIG GOVERNMENT highlights his true beliefs.

I am a conservative and have been through periods of great unhappiness. For better or worse, I admit that when I'm unhappy, I become downright resentful of most people and my conservative views tend to lean even more to the right. I'm sorry but I don't believe that disposition has anything to do with altering one's political beliefs.

Timidgal

reply to post by Misoir


Great Thread!

And thanks for opening up to how you were at one time.

I took this from the article......

His Holiness XIV Dalai Lama, at a recent appearance at USC, addressed this issue directly, thanks to a question from the audience. His Holiness taught that before we can bring happiness to the world, we must first bring happiness to our community and before that, to our family, and before that, to ourselves...........

So yes,common sense is to first take care of yourself,then everything in between,then the world........Those ills of the world will always be there for us to tackle.

Star and Flag

reply to post by Misoir


For some reason, trying to convince others of one's happiness; rings hollow in my book.

Truly happy people never see the need to even bring it up. I'm not convinced; mainly because I have read many, many of your posts and threads and you don't seem all that "optimistic" to me.