IS IT GENETIC OR IS IT LEARNED?

Could this be an indication that some people use one side or one area of the brain more than another? Is it possible that these types of people are predisposed to reject diversity, intellectual endeavor and progressive, pragmatic thinking?

I for one have always celebrated diversity; I am at a loss of words when it comes to the awesomeness of the differences…most of which are beneficial to society and to those who are fortunate to come in contact with them. I would be a shitty person if I didn’t defend being different…after all I am a senior, an agnostic, a Hispanic, gay and an immigrant born outside of the United States.

Just as when a person is left handed, or has blue eyes genetics plays an important part in it. I also think about those who have addictive personalities or who have a certain proclivity to violence or anti-social behavior. Of course, those I don’t celebrate and try to understand the causes and offer solutions and treatment.

I am also convinced that homosexuality is something that may not be genetically generated but could have something to do with the use of certain parts of a person’s brain (at least until scientists find the “gay” gene). It is clear that we don’t have those answers yet but it really doesn’t make any difference because being different is not a sin or some great affront to society as some people might have you believe.

And this brings me to people who are religious fanatics; they of course have that aspect as a learned behavior and set of beliefs. Chances are that most of these people have addictive personalities and rather than getting hooked on drugs they get a high from their religious devotion. There is also a great deal of social reinforcement and validation from their peers…as might be the case when one of these Evangelicals is able to “convert” a sinner-non-believer then they can enjoy that moment of basking in the sun when they get the adulation of the other church members.

The one thing that has me puzzled is those people who call themselves conservatives and I wonder if somehow these people use a different part of their brain in their thinking process. You see how they oppose change with a passion, how they are uncomfortable with differences and things that are new and unfamiliar. There is a trend to maintain the status quo by all means necessary and to fight against any changes or even improvements.

Conservatives usually (as of late) try to diminish the importance of education and meritocracy…it is somehow associated by them as some form of elitist behavior, some kind of “you are not one of us” type thing – and in translation it means that you have to be as mediocre as they are in order to be accepted.

But I think that basically these people don’t embark on any intellectual pursuit because they are basically lazy. They are reluctant to learn anything new or different and that is why they leave the thinking to others…be it their preachers, the right-winger radio talk host or their elected politicians.

I frankly don’t understand this way of thinking nor do I accept it because when I look around me and I see thousands of things that need to change, unfairness and inhumanity that needs to be corrected, wealth accumulation by the very few at the expense of the majority of us that has to be corrected if we are to survive as a society…all that makes me think that conservatives are beyond redemption, too far gone to function positively in our society. I do classify them as anti-social, and sociopaths. You have living examples of these types in very high places in the Republican Party, including all the Presidential candidates…which now seems to have been narrowed to only one: Romney.

I found this article below to be very interesting and hitting the nail on the head:

Understanding the Ideological Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives: Is it Possible for Us to Get Along?

AlterNet / By Joshua Holland

Journalist Chris Mooney discusses his new book, "The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Reject Science -- and Reality."

April 10, 2012 |  

 In his new book, The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Reject Science -- And Reality, science journalist Chris Mooney surveys this growing body of data and explains its significance. Mooney recently appeared on the AlterNet Radio Hour to discuss the book. Below is a transcript that has been lightly edited for clarity (listen to the whole show here).

“Studying the human personality has shown that liberals and conservatives are different people on chief personality measures like openness to new experiences, which liberals tend to score higher on, and conscientiousness -- which is liking order and structure in your life -- conservatives tend to score higher on that. There are all kinds of ramifications of that. I argue that one of the chief ramifications is that they're going to process information differently. Different kind of arguments are going to seem convincing to them, and especially for scientific and complex topics liberals are going to be generally more comfortable with the nuance and complexity of the issue. Conservatives are going to be more decisive.”

“Not all conservatives are the authoritarian type. That’s one type of conservative. Essentially, if you score very low on the trait "openness to new experience," which is the liberal trait that you like to try new things and also like new ideas. If you're on the opposite of that, it tends to mean more black-and-white thinking and, frankly, close-mindedness. The scientific term for that is the need for "closure." That means you want to have a fixed idea, and you'll definitely want to search for information enough so that you have that fixed idea, but then once you've got it you're not wanting to search anymore.”

I think also that among these conservatives are the real lazy ones who just don’t want to even make an effort to study, read, or even listen to anything more complicated than
Dancing With the Stars” and that is one of the main reasons I dislike these traits in conservatives.