Did You Know? Happiness is Linked to Peacefulness

The countries with the highest well-being tend to be the most peaceful and those with the lowest well-being are the least likely to be peaceful. The findings are from a new Gallup analysis revealing a strong relationship between Gallup’s life evaluation measure and two indicators of country stability.
Read more at GALLUP.com.

I’m sure the gun naysayers would be unhappy to see the US ranked higher on the ‘absence of violence’ graph than the United Kingdom with their tight gun control laws.

Overall, these conclusions are either self-evident or interesting. It depends upon which comes first–well-being or political stability. If people feel good about their government, they will not want to change it. That’s self-evident.

But is the corollary true: If government is stable, do people feel good about themselves? I don’t see evidence of that. Consider dictatorships.

Which begs the question, what is the definition of ‘stable’?

On a side note, one of my core beliefs is that man’s aggressive tendencies are fundamental to his survival. Throughout history, the more violent cultures have won out over their peaceful neighbors. Look at Athens and Sparta.Look at Hitler (short term, but no less destructive). The willingness to fight back, to defend ourselves with whatever means are available, the creativity to come up with new-fangled ways to protect our way of life is critical to our species. I don’t believe we want to breed that out of our genome.

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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, Technology in Education featured blogger, IMS tech expert, and a bi-monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

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Is Man Inherently Violent?

When I look at our world, I have to wonder: Are we so disagreeable because it’s in our genes or are we bent on our own destruction despite the survival instinct that is part of every species? Nuclear weapons, terrorists arguing

their point with violence, our American Congress no longer compromises–check out the Super Committee if you don’t agree with that, OWS turning to anger when persuasion didn’t work.

Can we compromise? Can we see the other side of an argument? Do we respect each other enough to allow that our opponent might want what’s best–as do we–so maybe we can trust his solutions?

I have no idea anymore. Here’s your chance to vote:

G+ or FB–Weigh in

Here are the results of a poll Mashable is running comparing readers thoughts about the major Social Networks–FB, G+, Twitter. I voted so I could see the results. Here they are:

Did You Know: Traditional Bulbs or Federally-mandated Bulbs?

67% Oppose Upcoming ‘Ban’ on Traditional Light Bulbs. One-in-five Americans (20%) say they or someone they know has bought large quantities of traditional light bulbs to use when those bulbs disappear off store shelves next year under new federal light bulb regulations, according to a Rasmussen poll.

The Importance of Father’s Day

73% Say Being a Father is Most Important Role for Men in Today’s World, according to Rasmussen Reports

Did You Know? Happiness is Linked to Peacefulness

The countries with the highest well-being tend to be the most peaceful and those with the lowest well-being are the least likely to be peaceful. The findings are from a new Gallup analysis revealing a strong relationship between Gallup’s life evaluation measure and two indicators of country stability.
Read more at GALLUP.com.

I’m sure the gun naysayers would be unhappy to see the US ranked higher on the ‘absence of violence’ graph than the United Kingdom with their tight gun control laws.

Overall, these conclusions are either self-evident or interesting. It depends upon which comes first–well-being or political stability. If people feel good about their government, they will not want to change it. That’s self-evident.

But is the corollary true: If government is stable, do people feel good about themselves? I don’t see evidence of that. Consider dictatorships.

Which begs the question, what is the definition of ‘stable’?

On a side note, one of my core beliefs is that man’s aggressive tendencies are fundamental to his survival. Throughout history, the more violent cultures have won out over their peaceful neighbors. Look at Athens and Sparta.Look at Hitler (short term, but no less destructive). The willingness to fight back, to defend ourselves with whatever means are available, the creativity to come up with new-fangled ways to protect our way of life is critical to our species. I don’t believe we want to breed that out of our genome.

Sunday Stats: Is America Too Politically Correct?

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% of Adults believe America today has become too politically correct, while just 23% say the country is not politically correct enough. Eleven percent (11%) say the balance is about right.

What do you think? Me, when they start removing the American flag from a veteran’s monument over some PC issue–yeah, we’ve gone too far.

Sunday Stats: We the People Consider Ourselves Better Informed

A democracy depends upon its people to be informed about the issues, willing to seek out answers and participate in the process of government, of elections. According to Rasmussen Reports, 67% say they are better informed than ten years ago.

Sunday Stats: America vs. Labor Unions

Americans’ approval of labor unions has recovered slightly from last year’s all-time low, but at 52% remains significantly lower than what it was before 2009. For the second year in a row, more Americans say they want unions to have less influence than more.

Read more at GALLUP.com.

Sunday Statistics: Is Torture Justified

A recent Pew Research Center survey asked 742 U.S. adults whether the use of torture against suspected terrorists can be justified.

The overall results (leaving out the popular rarely justified category to keep this simple. Full results here.):

• Can often be justified: 15%
• Can sometimes be justified: 34%
• Can never be justified: 25%

Here’s more detail:

Sunday Stats: Mankind vs. Gaia, Who Wins?

Man the species lives on planet Earth. We are good caretakers, or not. We are a complicated species, so that is a complicated question. Most species last only a couple of million years. We’ve lasted not even a hundred thousand years, so our reign statistically has barely begun.

The question which worries us is, are we ruining our planet? Will we be the last living species to prosper on Earth or will Gaia shuck our ownership, squelch us as a species and survive despite our bad habits?

Sunday Stats: MSNBC Poll on Arizona’s Immigration Law

Do you support Arizona’s tough new law on illegal immigration?

In July, Arizona will begin enforcing a new law that requires law enforcement officers to check someone’s immigration status if they have reason to suspect that he or she is in the country illegally. Do you think this is a good idea?

Hold on. MSNBC misrepresented what the law says. I know because I read SB 1070 (which is colloquially called the Arizona Immigration Law). Here’s what it should have posted:

Sunday Stats: Fourth of July is an Important Holiday

63% Consider Fourth of July One of Nation’s Most Important Holidays.

And only 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government now enjoys the consent of the governed.

Knowing Twitter Doesn’t Mean Using it

…or as my friend Jason Baer says, Twitter Sucks at Converting Awareness to Usage.

Here’s the statistics as revealed by an Edison Research study:

Known by 87%, just 7% of Americans use Twitter. Thus, fewer than one in 13 Americans who know about Twitter, actually use Twitter. Compare that ratio to Facebook, where 88% have heard of it, and 41% have a profile (a conversion rate approaching 50%).

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Sunday Stats: Hire Me!

Fewer than half of employers — 44% — plan to hire recent college grads in 2010, according to a CareerBuilder survey.

SB 1070 Treats Illegal Aliens Almost Like Citizens

SB 1070, the Arizona effort to control the tsunami of illegals that threaten to upend their state, has become  a lightening rod to factions within our country. Congress gave the President of Mexico a standing ovation when he condemned it (and by proxy, the nation), even though polls show a majority of Americans agree with controlling illegal immigration (up to 75% on the last one I read)

Sunday Stats: Communism or Democracy?

A stunning 72% say most Hungarians are actually worse off now economically than they were under communism, according to a Pew Research Center study.

Sunday Stats: More About the Stupidity of Americans

Once more, it’s our fault–Everyman–that we don’t get what the politicians are trying to say. I’m pretty tired of being called stupid, uninformed, misguided. If I’m too stupid–despite being in the top 3% of education level for Americans–where’s that leave our politicians, who aren’t even required to have a Bachelors to run for Congress?

A pox on all their houses:

(I know I know–this is from 1999. It still makes me mad)

79% – Missing the Point Entirely

Sunday Stats: Who Gets Less Colds? High School Dropouts or College Grad?

High school dropouts are roughly twice as likely to catch a cold as those with a college degree, new research suggests.

Sunday Stats: Do Americans Read

I’m in the 12.9% that reads 10+ hours a week. There’s never anything good on TV…

Where are you?

Thanks to Verso Digital