- Update 6/14/08 - Peter Schweizer published a major article today in the London Daily Mail.
- Any ideas? Did you guess conservatives are more honest? Well you are right! Peter Schweizer (author of “Makers and Takers: Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have
Closer Families, Take Fewer
Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty
More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less ... And Even Hug
Their Children More Than Liberals”) surveys numerous polls and sets out that startling fact. The Family Research Council looked at his article, and wrote:
In it [Schweizer's article], he chronicles a series of recent polls and surveys that point to America's state of moral confusion and the ideological discrepancies that appear to be fueling it. In the National Cultural Values Survey, the Culture and Media Institute compared the answers of what they termed "Orthodox" respondents (those who consider faith in God the most important ingredient for a good and moral life) to "Progressive" respondents (those who reject religion and follow their own moral compass).
When
researchers posed a series of questions to these groups,
the inconsistencies were startling. On adultery, a behavior almost
universally condemned, 35% of Progressives said, "There are some
situations where
[it's] understandable," compared to 3% of Orthodox. To the statement
"Sex between unmarried adults is always wrong," 68% of Orthodox
responded yes,
while only 3% of Progressives agreed. Almost half (45%) of Progressives
said it was okay to
break some laws because "they are outdated or breaking them doesn't hurt anyone," compared to 13% of Orthodox. Asked if it was okay to cheat the federal government on taxes, 49% of Progressives said it was okay, while less than half the Orthodox (21%) concurred.
A
survey by World Values took things a step further and compared the
values
of self-described liberals and conservatives. On nearly every subject,
"very liberal" respondents were more likely to abandon integrity in
favor of
personal interest. Compared to "very conservative" participants, they
were more likely to approve of buying "stolen goods," lying to Uncle
Sam,
accepting welfare benefits they don't qualify for, and drinking a can
of soda in a store without paying for it. . . .