by Lisa H Warren

Created on: June 12, 2008   Last Updated: October 28, 2008

If it is ever possible to generalize about the happiness of any group of people, it would seem that Conservatives may have a belief system that could be associated with greater happiness.

Conservatives are people who have faith in the power and capabilities of individuals. When people believe in themselves and in others, the world in which they live feels like a more positive place.

They're also people who look at what the nation is, recognize that there are flaws in how things are done, but generally believe that the nation is what it is as a result of a system that works. When people have a positive view of their nation, believe that "the system works" (or at least that it has worked since the time of nations' birth), and value the principles on which the nation was founded; they tend to feel more satisfied with, and proud of, their nation.

Conservatives remain very committed to those principles on which the nation was founded, to the point where many almost feel as if they have a responsibility to uphold, and preserve for the future, those principles. Whenever people feel connected to their history in that way they can feel they have a little more sense of purpose or connection to their country.

Conservatives see one of the biggest challenges as that of trying to limit the size of government, as well as its involvement and limitations on individual lives. The challenge of trying to limit a creeping, increasingly oppressive, over-sized government; is a formidable one. Still, with its base in a general belief in the people, this challenge is more likely to stir up awareness of strength and independence - rather than hopelessness and helplessness. A belief in stemming the creeping influence/involvement of government in the lives of the people can come from an awareness of the ways in which government actually destroys lives; but, again, this awareness doesn't come from a belief that people cannot manage without large government. It is, quite simply, less depressing to have faith in fellow human beings.

While this is, of course, a generalized picture of views, Liberals focus on what has not worked and on their belief that individuals cannot thrive without government's help. Liberals focus on the very real problems of the "have not's" and believe they cannot "have" without government intervention in some way. Those Liberals who are, themselves, "have not's", have seen that the often over-simplified Conservative concept of "just doing what one one needs to do to get

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