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| Dream world a strange, scary place for liberals |
| 2006-09-30 |
| If you've recently dreamed about sex with a stranger, flying or the dead coming back to life, or chased by your middle school bully, chances are you're probably a liberal instead of a conservative. A dream researcher from John F. Kennedy University in California has discovered fundamental differences between the dream worlds of people on the ideological left and the ideological right. Among his findings, Kelly Bulkeley discovered that liberals are more restless sleepers and have a higher number of bizarre, surreal dreams -- including fantasy settings and a wide variety of sexual encounters. Conservatives' dreams were, on average, far more mundane and focused on realistic people, situations and settings. It's called reality. "Conservatives seem to have more of a focus on the here and now and the material world whereas liberals, in contrast, seem to have a much wider sphere of imaginative activity," he said. "They don't just dream about what is, but what could be or what they wish could be," Mr. Bulkeley said. That's called "reality-based". His research is being published in an upcoming issue of Dreams, a journal published by the American Psychological Association. Out of the 134 liberals who participated in the study, 91 per cent said they recently dreamed about sex; only 76 per cent of 100 conservative subjects admitted the same. But Mr. Bulkeley said the two political stripes showed very different tastes in dream partners. Liberals were far more likely to have sexual dreams about strangers and a variety of partners, while liberal women showed a greater tendency towards same-sex fantasies than their conservative counterparts (24 versus four per cent). "Especially for liberal women, there was a far greater variety in sexual partners and incidents of homosexuality, Umm, think of a Rosie O'Donnell sandwich." Mr. Bulkeley said. "Liberals tended to show a greater willingness to experiment with different things." Conservatives, by comparison, were far more likely to report having sexual dreams about their spouse or current partner. While left-wingers might be more adventurous in the subconscious bedroom, they're also more likely to wake up in a cold sweat. Middle school bully again? Liberals showed slightly higher levels of nightmares than conservatives -- a statistic at odds with a similar dream study Mr. Bulkeley conducted in the late 1990s. He said the ideology of the United States' governing party may affect the dream patterns of Republicans and Democrats. While conservatives deplored former president Bill Clinton's reign in the 1990s, liberals are currently both furious and fearful of the Bush administration, he said. "With the change from the Clinton to the Bush administrations, there are waking world reasons for liberals to be more concerned and stressed, and conservatives to be less concerned," Mr. Bulkeley said. Can't handle reality? Then dream of office BJs. "Dreams are like political cartoons of the mind -- mental op-ed columns. Sometimes dreams reflect internal commentaries on the state of things." Or the liberal's real thinking organ. The study includes some of the dreams recounted by liberals, such as the following nightmare: "I was at a presidential rally where George W. Bush was speaking. There was so much red, white and blue. Bush speaks: 'There are those who say that we are giving up our civil liberties. But I say, we should be proud to sacrifice our freedoms for America!' The crowd went wild, clapping, cheering and waving flags. I awoke in a cold sweat." The horror! Having to fight islamic maniacs who want to take away your right to extracuricular workplace sex (while ordering troops into Bosnia). Not surprisingly, Republicans had much more benign dreams about their commander-in-chief: "I was friends with George W. Bush and we were working together on his ranch. I was happy to be there." Mr. Bulkeley said that the most surprising result in his study is that conservatives showed a higher tendency for lucid dreaming -- being aware You CAN'T handle the dream!!! Overall, conservative males appear to sleep the most soundly and remember the fewest dreams, while liberal women are the most restless sleepers and fantastical dreamers. "While some of my colleagues think my research reinforces the stereotype of repressed, uptight conservatives, it also shows that many liberals may he hanging on the edge of mental well-being," No truer words ever spoken. Mr. Bulkeley said. "There may be a lot of hidden distress and unpleasantness in the liberal mind." Say no more. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #19 If I ever doubt if this is a dream or reality, i just remember that In my dreams I can fly. In real life I can't. (Dammit) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-09-30 23:40 |
| #18 For Howard Dean #16 |
| Posted by: anon 2006-09-30 19:22 |
| #17 I'll bet the sex discrepancy is a function of conservatives having a lower rate of admitting to having such dreams. And I say that as a conservative myself. And then, using the Maureen Dowd Ellipsifier 3000: "Kelly Bulkeley discovered that liberals...have a higher number of bizarre, surreal dreams" And that's just their waking life! |
| Posted by: charger 2006-09-30 16:30 |
| #16 I dream of Bin Laden with just the towel on his head. |
| Posted by: Howard Dean 2006-09-30 16:14 |
| #15 I'm in luck here. I can't remember much of what happens when i'm awake, let alone when I'm asleep. And yes, it does make monogamy a lot more interesting. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-30 16:01 |
| #14 "liberals may be hanging on the edge of mental well-being" whaddya mean "hanging on edge"? they fell over long ago :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-30 15:48 |
| #13 Is this the conservative answer to the "liberals are more secure" study? :-) If this is true, you should be able to infer with fairly good accuracy whether someone is liberal or conservative based on their answers to what kind of dreams they have. Except for the sex thing. :-) What do you suppose we won't be hearing about testing this hypothesis anytime soon (i.e.: Too bad this study is crap, too). Have there been any studies done with separated twins on political leanings? That would be interesting to see if there is a biological component to liberal |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-09-30 14:17 |
| #12 hmmmm - the recurring ones where I show up late for final exams and forgot to study and can't find the room, or where I realize everyone else in school is dressed and I'm all of the sudden naked? Never had those. Nossiree |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-30 13:47 |
| #11 Forget about dreams. The world is a strange, scary place for liberals. |
| Posted by: GK 2006-09-30 13:24 |
| #10 I wonder how many liberals dream about finding their bong? Conservatives largely reported using their "dream awareness" to wake themselves up from uncomfortable situations and nightmares, he said. No I use my awareness to assert my will in the dream. All of a sudden CrazyFool knows kung-fu, kicks ass and takes names.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-09-30 12:17 |
| #9 "Among his findings, Kelly Bulkeley discovered that liberals are more restless sleepers and have a higher number of bizarre, surreal dreams" "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Isa. 57:20 |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-30 12:12 |
| #8 I don't need a research grant to know the libs LIVE in a dream world constantly. No news here. Just another lib throwing a shit pie back in their face. Eat up Teddy, you bloated hog. |
| Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-09-30 12:03 |
| #7 Not surprisingly, Republicans had much more benign dreams about their commander-in-chief: "I was friends with George W. Bush and we were working together on his ranch. I was happy to be there." That sounds like BS to me. Conservatives largely reported using their "dream awareness" to wake themselves up from uncomfortable situations and nightmares, he said. That's somewhat true for me. This article seems to mix fantasy and reality. Must be a liberal scientist. |
| Posted by: Clereling Cruns6778 2006-09-30 10:56 |
| #6 Ima have a magic hover shoes and triple springy feets when I dream. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-09-30 09:28 |
| #5 So were were the improper b-tree traversal, endless loop or VM I/O dreams? What about the horrible bandit Japanese illegal trucker radios blasting in the middle of the CDMA spectrum you are trying to defend? Where are pointless corporate HR hell dreams where they only pretend to be interested in hiring folks for their sadistic pleasure? What about the nanotech dreams? Or the sci-fi alternate reality ones where your doppleganger is in a much more interesting life? Maybe they should report dreams about a world that made common sense? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-09-30 03:55 |
| #4 every nite I count.. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-09-30 02:05 |
| #3 Dream the impossible dream, .com. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-09-30 00:30 |
| #2 I dream of flying regularly. Of course, in my dreams, I'm a B-1. I'm hoping to auto-upgrade to B-2 soon. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-09-30 00:21 |
| #1 Via Michelle Malkin who is dream worthy, when not dreaming about family. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-09-30 00:04 |