Why do more liberals write letters? They care more |
The editors of this paper frequently get asked why they publish so many letters that tilt leftward in a state where so many voters tilt rightward.
The obvious answer, straightforwardly given, is that the paper receives far more letters that lean left than right; in particular, far more critical of Donald Trump than favorable.
As a phenomenon likely replicated in the newspapers of other "red" states as well, it tells us something about the differences between right and left, especially the greater intensity of leftist belief.
Most conservatives I know, even of the intellectually inclined sort, don't really like politics much, and to the degree they become politically active beyond periodically stepping into polling booths it is often in response to what they see as leftist obnoxiousness and pestering. Conservatism of this fashion is perhaps more a disposition than a strongly held ideology, one which firmly subordinates political concerns to non-political.
As David Brooks caught some of this in a New York Times piece a couple months ago when he noted that "conservatives are more likely to join religious congregations, more likely to see themselves as very patriotic, more likely to volunteer in their communities, and more likely to give to charity." They are also more likely to get married and have kids.
In contrast, leftists........