Those of us who live in the country, are very conscious of our fashion. You may have guessed this already from plenty of pictures which show us in fine farmer garb–the one piece denim bib is a great example. Functional and oh so elegant. Just a bow tie clip-on for the t-shirt and you are ready for any dinner party.
The other day, I was fashionably clad in my rubber muddies, walkin’ through the watery muck of the lane, when my brother-in-law caught up to me on his backhoe. He had been hauling some hay to the cattle who did not have have benefit of the corn silage, since the fields were still not done due to crap weather.
As he shut off the motor and opened the cab, I saw that he too was clad in rubber muddies and but for the size, no doubt, they were identical to mine.
I mused on this fine sense of the fashionista shared by us both, when I realized upon heading back down the hill into the timber that the trees were indeed nearly bare of leaves. “Damn, it seems he was right again!” This to mean, the Contrarian, who but a few short weeks ago had predicted in Nostradamus fashion, “I think we are going to lose our leaves this year.”
Not to be all depressed and such, since last early spring, he confidently predicted that we would have leaves this year, and of course, that too transpired. The Contrarian is proving himself to be quite good at this prognostication business. One is tempted to say the same of many things in the bible, until one learns that often, the book in question with its “prediction” was written well after the event in question happened. At least the Contrarian announces his predictions well in advance.
Anyway, such thoughts give rise to still more ideas and sneaky partially worked out theories. I’m always happy when I see that I’m not alone in devising such philosophical questions of the month. This morning, Charlie Gibson, late of GMA and now nearly late of the Nightly News, was interviewing John Irving, the writer. Gibson in one of his better moments, asked, “Do you think one can find real happiness in one’s own imagination?”
What prompted this jaw dropping, stop in the street kind of question, is anyone’s guess. Yet it seemed to me, worthy of some thought. I think that you can, and in fact some people do. Then again, some can’t and some don’t.
Do you construct day-dreaming scenarios of lives unlived? I mean do you have a dream house/job/spouse/hobby/you name it, that you construct delicately and with precision, making it all just perfect? Is it your place to escape the cares and turmoils of the day? Is it a place where Johnny Depp falls in love with you, forgetting that you are nearly though not quite old enough to be his mother? Does Halle Berry hang on your every word while sipping Dom Perignon?
I can see how such worlds could be happy. Truly I can. I rather suspect that liberals engage in such mind play more so than Republicans. Just a guess. No polling or scientific evidence. But there is evidence that liberals are more unhappy than Republicans. We tend to take on the woes of the world and grouse about them. We have guilt as to what we have, given that so many have almost nothing. We can’t compartmentalize as well it seems as Republicans apparently can.
We probably drink more and drug more and sex more, though that last may truly be wrong. Republicans with their public stance on morality and their dirty little minds creating all kinds of kinky plays which they all too often cannot help but attempt to act out, may in fact engage in more sexual naughtiness than liberals. I dunno.
But escapism is escapism as they say, and so I suspect more liberals have a fantasy get away that allows them to unwind from the mean little world that we inhabit every day. And perhaps there, we do find the happiness we are so prone to deny ourselves in reality.
Someone the other day suggested that liberals “talk a good game” but that somehow we don’t live it. Actually, I think its the conservatives who act rather differently than they talk. The evidence seems on our side. I have a ton of liberal friends (Facebook proved that) and a huge number of them are very actively engaged in regular service to their communities through food pantries, homeless shelters, health care clinics, and such. They aren’t paid, they just do it, because they have to do something to help. Our unhappiness at the state of affairs in the world forces us to engage and make a difference, no matter how small that might be.
I’m not suggesting that conservatives don’t do charity work, but I suspect they see it somewhat differently than liberals do. I could be wrong on that. I’m wrong on a lot of things. But I feel comfortable in saying it. I hear way too much about how we “have to have the poor” as a means by which the rest of us can perfect our salvation, to think any differently. And then there is the failure of most conservatives to agree to anything that smacks of redistributing wealth in this country to make life reasonable for ALL. They start raising words like, lazy, and pulling oneself up by one’s boot straps. (I checked, and my muddies don’t have any boot straps by the way.)
Just so ya know, this is what you get when I’m sun deprived. It’s SAD isn’t it?
Existential Ennui 
From what I see I often come to similar conclusions of the dynamics.
Sometimes I feel that liberals appear less happy because they are more honest with themselves and the situation after the reflect or re-evaluate the position.
Ignorance is bliss (sorry for the cheap shot at conservatives) I know when I’m reflecting my intentions, actions, motives and goals I have fleeting desires to justify and rationalize a game plan with only one purpose (maximize my personal/family/circle’s benefits)
And believe me, there are numerous days I sincerely wish I could get myself to believe those rationalizations that justify my plan of action. I am human and I have desires, strong ones, but when i let them lead me I end up in places of physical, emotional, and spiritual turmoil.
but I don’t know, it just seems that some people never really try to understand a point of view different from their own (which is not as easy task, especially when the degree that you own point of view differs from theirs increases)
It is so damn hard to let go of bias when I take second, third, or fourth ‘looks’ at situations.
I can tell you that I honestly feel in my heart that compassion, and repeated attempts to understand all parties involved IS THE RIGHT THING FOR ME to do. When I modify that statement to “the right thing for us to do” or “the right thing for you to do” then my feelings of it being the right thing to do is diminished.
And for me in my life the way i feel the most fulfilled and content, happy is when that “honest feeling in my heart” in maximized.
And the maximizing that “honest feeling in my heart” has very complicated multifacit interlinked dynamic. It’s like a car engine with several different necessary system that all need to operate if I want to be driven to a destination of “maximized honest feelings in my heart”
and for some strange reason weather or not the radio is tuned well verses all static significantly effects the route travelled
I agree with you that I’m not saying everyone needs to do this. I do wish that more people would reach out to help those less fortunate then themselves (once their own basic needs are met) But I believe that the more I push people to do this…. the more they resist.
I really liked the way your post made me question my views and think.
happy halloween Sherry!
I think you point to a very critical issue. That most of us, most of the time, don’t do very well in really seeing the other point of view. The problem becomes at what point is the other point of view so ludicrous as to be dismissed as nutty? I’d say anti-evolutionists and YEC’ers are certainly there. No point in having an intelligent conversation about this since one position is rational, the other exceptionally illogical. But I’m with you, I can only address what I need to try to do, not what everyone else should do.
Blogging causes a drop in I think the ability to always see the other side, since part of what you do is entertain with the information. You lose your edge as you empathize too much.
I have a huge block when it comes to fundamentalists which I simply regard as potentially dangerous since they have been violent in the past. I find the entire mindset as dangerous to the community at large.
You mean when you’re out and about on muddy terrain you don’t wear your stiletto heels? Color me surprised.
If I may toot our own horn, I think those of a ‘liberal’ bent tend to live in the noodle more because we’re not so slavishly beholden to expectations like the more conservative (politically and/or socially) members of society.
As for unhappiness, sure, when you’re not actively cultivating cognitive dissonance and see the world for how it really is, sure, it’s easier to lapse into the blahs.
Redistribution of wealth? Communist. Wall Street pulled itself up by its own bootstraps, so should you!
Well I see your point in paragraph 2. lol…I suspect we don’t live in expectation as much as conservatives do. They like to see things never change–at least those things they want. They only allow others to share if they don’t ask them to share the burden of payment.
Your a fascist pig Randal. And everyone knows that. So, so much for your Commie put down! LOL..