A recent survey by Duke University found that to a large degree, the person’s opinion of the solution influenced their acceptance of the problem.
For instance, most Republicans said they believed in man-made climate change when the proposed solution was free-market based – the development of green technologies. But when the solution was government regulation, they began denying that the Earth was warming at all. By contrast, the Democrats’ belief in climate change never wavered. However, when the Democrats were asked to consider the problem of violent break-ins, they agreed that more needed to be done to tackle such crimes – until presented with evidence that further liberalising of US gun laws might be the solution. Then they began doubting the frequency of armed break-ins. The researchers say this “solution aversion” is always liable to occur when particular groups feel their cherished beliefs are threatened – and that it helps explain why some political rows become so intractable.
My reaction to this is that man- made climate change is an actual fact, investigated ad nauseam by scientists from all over the world and proved to the satisfaction of most rational people. One can actually see it in action. It has also been shown that the naysayers have in too many cases been financially backed by oil companies and others with a financial agenda. (That’s not to say that anyone is able to do anything constructive about it, except talk).
The liberalization of the gun laws on the other hand has produced a situation where some 27,000 people a year die of gunshot wounds for one reason or another in the United States. Were this a declared war it might go down as the most bloody and long-lasting war in history. As for Epicureanism, the idea that the man approaching you in the street has a loaded gun in his possession tends to be somewhat nervous- making and has a negative effect on peace of mind. Epicurus might have called it barbaric.
New Statistical Approach to Burglary, Related Violence
The stereotypical burglary of the unknown masked man armed with a gun, breaking into a house and violently attacking its residents, is usually not the case, according to a new Bureau of Justice Statistics report that uses a revised definition of burglary to assess burglary-related violence.
While burglary is usually defined as a property crime, it is categorized as a personal crime when someone is at home and attacked or threatened during that burglary. In the report, “Victimization During Household Burglary,” researchers identified all burglaries, violent or not, in the burglary category, so as to evaluate the quantity and demographic breakdowns of burglary violence.
What researchers found was that violence was used on average in seven percent (266,560) of the 3.7 million burglaries each year. Of those 266,560 violent burglaries, offenders had a firearm just 12 percent of the time, and victims knew their attackers beforehand 65 percent of the time.
The most common type of violence was simple assault, followed by robbery and rape. In these cases, 36 percent were identified as minor injury and nine percent as serious injury. (October 5, 2010, Suzette Lohmeyer)
I think everyone need to have beliefs and stick to them. Of course there is always going to be evidence for all sides, which is what makes politics interesting- its a debate. So I don’t feel the need to criticize Democrats or Republicans based on this research.