Cowardly Lions

A couple years ago, a book called The God Gene claimed that both the most devout of religious believers and the most fervent atheists carried a certain DNA marker that made their beliefs immutable. No matter how you argued with them, or for how long, there was simply no way to change their minds. It can't be done.

I believe this.

Now, there is news of a similar scientific study that attempted to determine whether there might be a genetic explanation for dispositions toward conservative or liberal beliefs. What they found supports my own observations of my family and friends: "People with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals", after correcting for effects of age, gender, etc. I've always thought that the conservative affinity for rules, order, hierarchy, authority and even religion was rooted in simple fear. We need to protect ourselves from them.

This is hardly conclusive, and it's hard not to make this appear dogmatic. And I don't mean to say that a conservative disposition doesn't have a place. After all, turn back the clock to pre-historic times and imagine the cavemen who decided to sleep outside, saying to each other, 'Aw, don't worry, those dinosaurs aren't going to do us any harm'. If everyone had listened, none of us would be having this conversation today.

But at the same time, it was probably those same 'liberal' cavemen who decided one day to find out what was over the next hill...and eventually discovered the sea.

The scientist who conducted this concluded,
"...the study added to the growing research suggesting that over millions of years, humans have developed two cognitive styles -- conservative and liberal. Cautious conservatives prevented societies from taking undue risks, while more flexible liberals fostered cooperation.
For the species to survive, you need both."

So perhaps liberals dealing with conservatives just need to understand that they're afraid. And this might explain the need for Sarah Palin to run away from the American people. And the decision of John McCain today to run away from his first debate with Barack Obama.

Fear is in their nature.