Yale Claims ‘Cure’ for Conservatism
A dubious study suggests that irrational fear motivates people to hold conservative views.
Pseudo-scientists at Yale University claim to have figured out how to change a conservative’s political views via “an intense imagination exercise.” The basic gist of the “study” suggests that conservatives are more aware of and concerned with physical threats than are leftists. Participants were asked their political opinions and then asked to close their eyes and deeply image one of two scenarios. Half of the individuals were asked to imagine that a genie granted them the power of flight, the other half were to imagine that they were absolutely invulnerable to any physical harm. According to the study, those who imagined they could fly changed very little in their political views, while those who imagined they were invulnerable to physical harm were said to have become indistinguishable from Democrats in their views.
The eggheads at Yale went on to extrapolate that the reason for this change was that people who feel “unsafe” are more apt to adopt conservative political perspectives. You know, those who don’t buy the “just trust me” trope. While it would be amazing to actually be Superman, the reality is that humans are mortal, and furthermore, history and life experience are replete with examples of why we should be wary about blindly trusting people.
But another obvious point emerges here that was seemingly missed by these “academics.” Jazz Shaw of Hot Air puts it well, stating, “Putting unrelated information into the minds of survey participants prior to asking questions has a different name in political circles. It’s known as a push poll. Rather than getting an accurate impression of a person’s opinions, you’re poisoning the well in advance to sway their feelings. It’s also little more than a temporary effect. … I would suggest assembling a similar group of test subjects and showing them all a picture of Kate Steinle, followed by some grisly scenes of the handiwork of MS-13. Then ask them all about their feelings on immigration issues being sure to include the word ‘illegal’… Who knows? You might even cure some liberals for a little while.”
In the end, the real pathology can be found on the Left.
