Citizens' Fear Caused by What?

Well, first let me ask forgiveness for addressing an article nearly a year old that was published in Science Magazine, by Oxley, et al., on September 19, 2008, vol. 321.
The title for this article is "Political Attitudes Vary with Physiological Traits"

This article was brought to my attention by a leftist author of a letter to the editor in our local newspaper this past week, wherein he responded to the previous week's letters to the editor; some of which protested the Usurpent's actions (it doesn't matter which ones, because they all require protest). I read the study's summary along with several readers' comments thereon.

Douglas Oxley and company investigated how politically-opinionated humans react to fear as compared with average humans. The basic premise is that fear-sensitive folks tend to desire public policy that reflects and protects their societal comfort levels, and that less fear-sensitive people tend to think more globally (my summation). It is a lengthy article, and, because it was published by a major periodical, it probably carries some weight in some mad scientist circles.

Certainly, I'm no scientist, but I do know something general about polling samples and studies. Whenever you'd like to perform a study or poll, you try to use the largest number of participants practical to the job. For example, if I want to determine how many people hate what the Usurpent and Congress is doing, I don't just ask my friends or call 100 people in Texas--that would be grossly inaccurate. Instead, I would randomly call or interview 1000 to 5000 people evenly distributed across America. The broader the sample, the more accurate the response, usually with an accuracy rate of between 3-5% either way.

This great scientific research utilized 46 adults (the scientists get extra credit for using adults). It took eight people to conduct and write about their findings that, to me, are complete nonsense. Even the authors couldn't make any conclusions about their three-month effort, and not only that, they never explored the specificity of the participants' politics**. Was this done at the tax-payers' expense?

Let's take an example, my own study using one person (nearly as good as 46)). I have a low threshold for pain (oh, no--BB knows!), but I will not change my lifestyle to avoid the potential of, say, getting out of bed. I'm a carpenter, daily using such power tools as electric mitre boxes, sabre saws and table saws, not to mention driving a large truck. If my physiological sensitivity to pain was any higher, using this study's theory, I would either a) demand that laws be written to prohibit sharp blades from being made for this equipment (unsafe at any speed!), b) hire someone else to do my cutting (legal aliens, of course), or 3) become an accountant.

Rather than blame Americans' fear on a higher physiological reaction to fear-inducing stimuli, I believe it is safe to say that we just don't like Socialism, the potential for Islam to deluge our Judeao-Christian rooted nation with religious Round Up, and we don't particularly care for lies, deceit, and abuse of power (abusive power?).

**My guess is that the scientists, at least, are Democrats/Socialists because they're always looking for someone or something else to blame rather than taking on individual responsibility. Yet another reason to be moved to fear....