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Fear and Anxiety Drive Conservative Decisions (www.psychologytoday.com)

submitted 8 months ago by elfpie@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org

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I was watching a video by Georgia Dow in which she talked about a study showing how fear drives people to be more conservative. What that reminded me of was the rationalization I keep stumbling upon almost every day lately: "the alternative is worse".

We are mostly not revolutionaries willing to die for a cause. We just want to live our quiet lives, so we pay the thugs that offer us protection from themselves. The alternative is worse.

I can't criticise people for trying to survive, but I think it's important to be honest with ourselves. It's all bad and the good option is really hard and a scary risk with too many sacrifices.

And let me get personal to drive the point home. Anxiety and depression are just my reality. I'm very isolated and avoid interactions as much as I can. I'm in a bad place and would totally tell you with great conviction that out there somewhere is worse. I also believe it could be amazing, but the chances of me suffering, actually, the certainty, makes me think it's not worth it even trying.

Anyway. Be kind kind to yourselves, be kind to all the others, but be honest.

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[–] tygerprints@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

And I'm not sure WHICH golden age they mean - I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and though people THINK those were "happy days," I remember the turmoil, the political unrest, the protests about police brutality, the hate, the huge problem of drug abuse and alcoholism everywhere.

I think the golden age is a fictive past that never truly existed (and nobody would really want to go back to anyway).

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It does not matter when was it. You are thinking about this factually, meanwhile it is psychological/intuitive feeling, has little to do with reality. Each conservative will answer differently. Some will even point to Ancient Rome. Does not matter.

[–] tygerprints@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Well that's kind of my point, no matter which age they are pointing to, none of them were really "golden." There's never been a time when there wasn't war and disease and suffering and inequality, so it really is a psychological construct and not a reality.

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

For the sake of argument, let’s say there was such age. Changes nothing.

[–] tygerprints@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago

That's what I'm saying.