POLITICS AND GROWING A THIRD ARM

There is a price to pay for believing as I do about the relationship between genetics and political behavior. As I have posted before, I believe our behavior relates to the primordial pools from which all life evolved, which is biological zero. In the case of politics, greed or selfishness related to conservatism and altruism and benevolence relates to liberalism.  As such, greed predates altruism with altruism evolving into our humanization, a thing of culture.  Both conservatives and liberals should not treat these labels at as being pejorative but rather as biological facts.

I have a great deal of empathy for man and animals, perhaps too much because at times it works to my detriment. I am a liberal. I do not feel my political position is a matter of freewill. I have friends who are conservatives. Observers, knowing this about us, can predict what positions we will take on many if not most political issues. My friends were quick to condemn my evaluation of Pat McCrory, the new governor of North Carolina even before his swearing in ceremony. I base my criticism on my prediction of what he will do as governor. They can say I will make these predictions based on what he said during his campaign for office which is not so. What I am saying is that he based what he said during his campaign on his genetic make up. The campaign did not make him a conservative, his genes did. Of course, there is the tired old “nurture verses nature” argument but that has been repeatedly debunked but unfortunately, the human ego will not let most people to accept that as a fact. They claim we are in control of our decisions; we decide if we are Republicans or Democrats. That is accurate, we under the control of our genes, our physical as well as our behavior reflects our genetic make up. I cannot decide to grow a third arm anymore then I can decide to be a conservative.

I can predict what decisions Pat McCrory is going to make—not precisely but generally. They would not be the same as the decisions I would make in the same circumstances. Of course, there is great variation in our conservatism and our liberalism. Our personalities are unique as are our DNA sequences. Political tendencies are as equally unique as our DNA. They are not unique nor are they precise. Nevertheless, consider the action of the 27 Republican governors; do they favor business interest over workers interest; are they concerned about welfare recipients and the unemployed.  How do they look at the 47%, as takers or makers? What part should OSHA play if it decreases profits? Why are these governors not concerned with global warming . . . perhaps it cuts down on profits? McCrory cannot stand knowing that there is natural gas under the ground in North Carolina and not having the right to get it and make a profit.  I know he feels that way because—he is a Republican—it is in his genes.