New information from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study has brought renewed focus on connections between political affiliation, happiness, and mental health. Using graphs and data from this study, statistician and political analyst Nate Silver found that a sizable mental well-being gap exists between those on the right and left.

Silver demonstrates that across every category – gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, education, income – far more conservatives claim to be happier and in better mental health than their leftist, or as Silver calls them, liberal, counterparts. Of mental health, for instance, Silver observes that “the average American self-reports at a 60 on this scale: in other words, somewhere between good and very good mental health. But liberals average a score of 53 and conservatives a 68.”

Read through the charts provided by Silver and we find married conservatives report better mental health than liberals, Catholic and Protestant traditionalists are happier than liberal church-goers, and conservatives – from boomers to Gen Z – score at least 9 points higher on the scale of happiness and mental well-being.

Several factors may account for these differences. Those who consider America a racist, misogynistic, and failed society, for instance, will likely be unhappier than those who believe it to be a country of freedom and opportunity. Lessons regarding the dire consequences of climate change, taught in many cases to kids since kindergarten, would cast shadows over any sunny disposition. Rejection of traditional marriage and religion might also give rise to a darker take on life. A case could be made that the liberals are unhappier because they are more empathetic to the poor and downtrodden. It’s even possible that conservativism, with its patriotism and conventional mores, attracts happier people in the first place.

Another explanation has to do with the modern take on victimhood. The political left in 21st century America promotes victimhood, particularly in the arenas of race and sex. Many of these advocates consider themselves victims as well, thereby creating a culture which diminishes individual effort and props up failure. To expect positive mental health or joy from such a sad interpretation of the human being is foolish.

Whatever the reasons for this gap, this poll and other such studies have present and future ramifications for our culture and our country, and for individuals as well. Cultural institutions like Hollywood and the music industry generally lean left, meaning that the men and women making our movies and songs are more likely fraught with emotional trauma and mental disorders. Some liberal government officials would also fall in this category, which would explain some of the outlandish proposals and legislation associated with certain members of Congress.

But one of the most important lessons we should draw from this data has to do with the well-being of American children. If parents want to raise kids with a positive outlook on life, who are resilient in the face of failure, who look to their own talents and gifts for success rather than blaming others for their shortcomings, then Mom and Dad must pass on to them the virtues embraced and encouraged by our ancestors, not those conceived by today’s so-called experts. Preschoolers can learn values like courage, prudence, kindness and responsibility from nursery rhymes and fairy tales, while adolescents can acquire these character builders from novels like the “Little House” books and other children’s classics.

Yet some parents and many of our schools keep pushing children into the tangled thickets of gender issues, racial distinctions, or climate change long before they are ready for these vines and brambles. This indoctrination destroys innocence and stunts natural growth and maturity. A six-year-old taught to believe that the family car is destroying the planet will be traumatized; a third grader who learns critical race theory will grow up to be a neo-racist; a 10-year-old propagandized by some gender construct is bound to become sexually confused.

The poll’s data and Silver’s analysis point to the results of that early childhood miseducation. If we want well-adjusted and happier adults, we must begin by returning childhood to our children.

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The republication of this article is made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

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