The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

be counterintuitive, one explanation is that they are the result of a

greater cultural emphasis on  organized religion. Red  state couples are 

pressured to marry sooner, and they are less likely to live together or

have sex prior to marriage. Consequently, the average red state couple

has less opportunity to get to know each other before getting married,

which may  destabilize their marriage. Similarly, disapproval of premar-

ital sex may lead to greater use of pornography to obtain sexual release.

HIPPIES AND EVANGELICALS

Adding to the complexity, political parties are heterogeneous, composed
of groups who  have conflicting beliefs. Among Republicans, there are 
the small-government advocates who believe that individuals should be
left alone to make their own choices, free from controlling laws and
regulations. But there are also the politically active evangelicals who
want to make the country a better place by legislating morality. It’s not
surprising that  a  group that  defines itself by  its  worship of a  transcen-
dent entity and  emphasizes abstract concepts such as  justice and  mercy 
would have a more dopaminergic approach to life. Their attention to
continual moral growth and the afterlife also reveals a focus on the
future. They are the progressives of the right.
On the left there are the hippies who value sustainability and often
frown on technology, preferring to live a life that’s deeply connected
to the earth. They favor the experience of the here and now over the
pursuit of what they do not have. They are the conservatives of the left,
rejecting the progressive arrow in favor of the conservative circle.
This complexity reminds us that when studying social trends, it’s
important to be careful and to maintain an open mind. The complete
reversal of the results of the politics and personality traits study demon-
strates that data can be mistakenly interpreted and still be accepted as
correct. Even worse, the quality of data is always imperfect, and the
information gathered from surveys given to thousands of people will
have more errors in it than data from closely supervised clinical trials.
Surveys also depend on the truthfulness of the respondents. It’s possible