<p>Is it income? Nope. Who’s in power politically? Nope. And Independents are even unhappier than Democrats. I have to say, I’ve noticed the phenomenon here. <a href=“http://pewresearch.org/social/pack.php?PackID=1[/url]”>http://pewresearch.org/social/pack.php?PackID=1</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>ignorance is bliss</p>
<p>Some people can’t be happy until they make everyone else miserable</p>
<p>Reeze–I just won a private cyber-bet. Thanks.</p>
<p>Now that we have the obvious petulant response out of the way, I think the true answer has more to do with the optimism/pessimism inherent to, respectively, Republicans/Democrats. Rs seem to see the glass as half-full, with an opportunity to become full. Ds seem to see the glass as half-empty, and trickling away while they watch, helplessly.</p>
<p>driver - no problem, i accept checks, money orders, or cash… just make sure it’s funneled through a lobbying group or your local republican party chapter</p>
<p>EDIT: By the way, I’m a classic republican – small non-intrusive government with low taxes and low spending…</p>
<p>It’s an interesting study. I like how Republicans are happiest under Carter and Clinton, and saddest under their own two presidents. Seems like some people aren’t happy until they have a president they can all love to hate. </p>
<p>Haters! (I kid, I kid) :)</p>
<p>oh, driver. Since you are speculating and generalizing, allow me. </p>
<p>Most Republicans I know ( I live in an upscale neighborhood that’s about 75% Republican) go about their daily lives oblivious to the needs of any other segment of society except their own little world.
They drive huge SUVs, have people clean their homes and tend their property( hire illegals, but vote to keep them from driving) whether they work or not, they talk mostly about what they can aquire, have aquired, or want to aquire. They watch Fox News if they pay attention to the news at all. They’re generally very involved and have a lot of fun with their kid’s sport’s activities, but they’re not that concerned about their academics. </p>
<p>The Dems I know are somewhat more aware of what’s going on in the world,but what really distinguishes them is their concern for the people in and around our society less fortunate than themselves. (You know, the liberal guilt) Many of them work for non-profits or are teachers instead of working for corporations. They have jobs that put them into contact daily with people that aren’t doing so well. They value education, and aren’t happy with the state of it, whether it be because their own kids are having trouble, or because they see how poorly our schools are doing. They care. They’re bothered by things and want to act to make things better. They’re not as content with the status quo. So when asked, are you happy with the way things are, they’re much more likely to say no, even if their own lives are peachy.
Generalizing - yep. Just like you.</p>
<p>Those that care about others get frustrated and angry, those that have little compassion for others, well, don’t…</p>
<p>A.S.A.P - that’s exactly what I was getting at with my “ignorance is bliss” comment… Republicans like driver live in a fantasy world unconcerned for anything else</p>
<p>ASAP - Well said! Bandit (“Some people can’t be happy until they make everyone else miserable”) - You are absolutely correct - that’s why the Republicans are happy! :)</p>
<p>I love it! Just to correct the record, though, the study asked “how happy are you?” Not “Are you happy with how things are?” And I completely agree that most Democrats I know prefer “preachy” to “peachy.”</p>
<p>“Of course, there’s a more obvious explanation for the Republicans’ happiness edge. Republicans tend to have more money than Democrats, and – as we’ve already discovered – people who have more money tend to be happier.”</p>
<p>Well I don’t have the research or specifics to back this up but I did read in a Martin Seligman book recently that income has nothing to do with happiness. I believe you are correct Driver in stating that happiness has more to do with pessimism/optimism but I think you’re going out on a limb by assuming that those characteristics are more prevalent in one political party over another. </p>
<p>I think I’ve read some studies that say that people that see things realistically also tend to be the least happy. Personally, I think Dems see the world more realistically or at least I feel strongly that way since Incurious George and Vice ( thank you Maureen Dowd) were elected.</p>
<p>I don’t think optimism/pessimism has anything to do with it. If anything, the liberals are more optimistic because they believe that change is possible, and act to do something about the injustice they see in the world. Often as not in my experience it’s the Republicans who feel that there “will always be poor people” and there’s not much they can do about it, so they’re just out to get theirs. Once again, generalizing, so no offence intended to any specific Republican. (My mums and mum-in-law are Repubs - they both are VERY sick of our pres and are NOT happy with how things are going. We agree for once. 
)</p>
<p>Who is it that advocates for the poor, feed the hungry, take care of the hurt, help the oppressed, etc…hmmmmm</p>
<p>call it liberal, call it Jesus, from what I read, Jesus was pretty (<em>%#)</em>$ off most of the time</p>
<p>Of course money helps, Liz, but the study found this:
</p>
<p>I really do think that optimism or lack of it are the fundamental differences between the two parties’ putative philosophies. By and large (and regardless of what their party leaders say or do), Republicans tend to feel that they have some control over their own destinies, and are capable of making their own way in the world. Dems take the opposite view, with even those who have been successful feeling that they have just been lucky. “The winners of life’s lottery” was such an awful phrase (Mondale, I think.)</p>
<p>
An opinion common to those who know nothing of Jesus life as described in the GospelsAlso common to people angry with life in general… not the least of which their own.</p>
<p>It really doesn’t matter if the question was how happy are you or how happy are you with the state of the world. To thoughful democrats, the state of the world directly effects their own happiness.
I’m not very happy right now. We have a war that will be leaking into the rest of the middle east soon, our deficit is going to leave unbelievable debt to my kids, we’re slowly ruining our environment and our government doesn’t give a ****, our social safety net is being chipped away by this administration ( he snuck ss back into the budget, you know), and we’re much less safe than we were before 9/11 due to our unprovoked aggression in Iraq and the chaos we have created in that country fueling the flames of hatred that will be with us for generations. Nope, not happy.
On the other hand, I have two successful kids, a beautiful home, excellent health, a supportive and loving husband, lots of “stuff”…
I have no personal complaints. But somehow the rest of the world still manages to creep in there - I just can’t be as smugly satisfied as my Republican friends seem to be. Sorry.</p>
<p>I think the answer is quite obvious - aren’t “misery” and “victimhood” key planks of the Democratic platform? If you buy into the mantra of “we are all weak pawns of ‘the man’”, it’s not long before you feel miserable.</p>
<p>
But as good as the thought that you are more thoughtful (and hence, sadder, more martyrish) must make you feel, you are still unhappy about the general human condition (including your own). The difference, I submit, is that an optimistic can-do attitude is not only healthier on a personal level, but is also more effective pragmatically. Both outlooks are self-fulfilling. Optimism really does feel better, and reflects on the study’s data pertaining to personal health and “feeling good.” (I’m putting mental health on the same level of importance as physical health.) The feeling that there is no help outside of government must be a massive depressant.</p>
<p>If I can humbly suggest, as an observer of Democrats, their complaints tend to be <em>total</em> something is never wrong in the world, everything is wrong in the world, at all times. </p>
<p>Including in whatever time it takes to compose a single post. </p>
<p>It is the rare complaint that remains focused; rather, they include every indignity imagined or real: Seems psychologically based, even if based in a real observation.</p>