A Quick "Sanity" Quiz!

The balm of the liberal left, after the stunning (to them) reelection of George W. Bush, was to tell themselves that they were all part of some oppressed "reality-based community", insinuating that conservatives, of course, were off somewhere else. Wikipedia defines the phrase as follows:

...the phrase "proud member of the reality-based community," was first used to suggest the blogger's opinions are based more on observation than faith, assumption, or ideology and that others who disagree are unrealistic...

Where am I going with this? Stay with me... Fausta leads us to an article in Psychology Today, which informs us that "9/11 Republicans" are not acting with any sort of common sense or what they would define as rational thinking:

We tend to believe our political views have evolved by a process of rational thought, as we consider arguments, weigh evidence, and draw conclusions. But the truth is more complicated...

Among the most potent motivators, it turns out, is fear. How the United States should confront the threat of terrorism remains a subject of endless political debate. But Americans' response to threats of attack is now more clear-cut than ever. The fear of death alone is surprisingly effective in shaping our political decisions—more powerful, often, than thought itself.

And we are not simply quivering children scared of our Freudian shadows; oh no...gosh darn it, liberals (especially men) are just so much more...sophisticated than their Cro-Magnum Conservative cousins:

Liberals have more books, and their books cover a greater variety of topics. And that's just a start. Multiple studies find that liberals are more optimistic. Conservatives are more likely to be religious. Liberals are more likely to like classical music and jazz, conservatives, country music. Liberals are more likely to enjoy abstract art. Conservative men are more likely than liberal men to prefer conventional forms of entertainment like TV and talk radio. Liberal men like romantic comedies more than conservative men. Liberal women are more likely than conservative women to enjoy books, poetry, writing in a diary, acting, and playing musical instruments.

I find all this quite difficult to believe, as most of the East Coast liberals that I am forced to deal with daily spout political generalizations and hackneyed expressions with an assurity and defiance that would be impressive, if it was even remotely thought-through or sustainable by facts.
But does enjoying poetry and crying during Sanda Bullock flicks make you a better person, or specifically a more sane one?

Dr. Sanity takes this sh*t apart:

....there is indeed some serious psychological pathology at work here, and it depends on which side of that question corresponds to objective reality. Which side is engaging in gross self-deception; and which side is denying and distorting reality and truth? Which side is constructing complicated conspiracy theories to shore up their view of the world and is refusing to process any information that contradicts that view?
How does a rational person decide which part of that question is true? Are we or are we not threatened by Islamic fascism?

How you answer that question will, of course, determine which political ideology you accuse of engaging in psychological pathology

Now, how's about a quick quiz - the good doctor gives a number of Roarsch-type questions that should be asked, I'll just sample a few:

Did Islamic fascists plan and execute the mass murder of 9/11 ; or, was it a conspiracy of the Bush Administration and the US government (and/or the Jews)?

Have Islamic fascists declared war on the U.S. and the West; or, are their statements--made on a daily basis-- simply mere rhetoric and in reality pose little or no threat to our national security?

Are we involved in a global war against Islamic fascism that is being waged right now (in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, the Phillipines etc.) against the fanatic religionists of Islam; or is this "war" a psychotic figment of neocons' imaginations?

Take the test, you don't need an answer guide to figure out your final score, although Dr. Sanity gives you a hint:

...I can't promise that everything will be okay--bad things do happen in the real world; innocents do suffer and evil does exist--but, you do have a choice: you can choose to face life with honor, integrity and dignity--fighting when necessary for those things that give meaning to human life; and standing up for that which is good; or, you can whine and whimper, cower and run from the unpleasantness of the real world--and just let yourself be a deer in the headlights waiting for that final crash to end the paralysis and self-deception.

Must be like Neo emerging from the Matrix to discover the disturbing truth about reality....