Conservatives v. Liberals: Thinking v. Feeling

Over at Blog P.I.(beta), William Beutler asks the question:

Another possibility: I’ve always considered conservative bloggers to be a bit more of hobbyists than their liberal counterparts. The leftosphere is primarily animated by their animus to President Bush, the Iraq war, and these days, Joe Lieberman. Their eyes are always on the prize, whereas conservatives are more likely to blog for the sake of blogging. The rightosphere is also without a president to unseat, a Congress to win back, and a war to end — hence the irritation of the Kossacks with having a trifle such as this all over the TV news.

That said, I’m still not sure that explains the whole thing. Are liberal bloggers more serious? Are conservative bloggers more cosmopolitan?

I have another theory: Conservatives feel with their brains and liberals think with their heart.

Liberals are always accusing conservatives of being cold-hearted, of not feeling enough and conservatives are always accusing liberals of being all emotional about issues. I believe they are both right (to an extent).

Worrying about what others think (for example: What will the EU think about our policy) appears as insanity to conservatives. What "they" think should have no effect upon our actions and policies. Yet, it appears completely rational to someone who is concerned about how others will react to our actions and policies.

Not worrying about how others feel (for example: Not empathizing with the homeless) appears as uncaring and cold to liberals. If you don't empathize, you are less than human! Yet, unbridled emotion interferes with the ability to properly decide what our actions and policies should be.

Both sides of the political equation can learn from this.