Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we test this hypothesis by investigating an association between self-reported political ideology and the 7R variant of the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4), which has previously been associated with novelty seeking. Among those with DRD4-7R, we find that the number of friendships a person has in adolescence is significantly associated with liberal political ideology.
And here all this time I thought I was a Liberal because I believe in the Social Contract and that we’re stronger together than divided one from another….
As it turns out, I have the Liberal Gene…which, things being what they are, means that some Conservative scientist will probably come up with a pill designed to get me and people like me to channel my inner Ronald Reagan. In the New Conservative World Order, all self-identified Liberals will be required to report to re-education centers where they will forcibly undergo aggressive treatment to rid them of this personality disorder. Deviants like myself will continue to undergo treatment until they can quote the sayings of Chairman Newt Gingrich and the mission statement of the American Family Association from memory. In worst-case scenarios, Liberals will be forcibly removed from polite society and incarcerated until they no longer yearn to drive hybrid vehicles, compost, and read the Sunday New York Times Magazine.
Personally, I think I’d rather go underground. You can have my recycling bin when you pry it from my cold, dead hands…. ;-)