Well, thank you for your flattering generalization Painthetown. You obviously know all of us very well.
Oh, and a social science study done at UC Berkely is sure to be unbiased. Very scientifically sound.
Speaking of my own fairly diverse group of friends, the ones that are most conservative also tend to be the most successful, independent and responsible. Of course, now *I'm* probably being biased, since people tend to gravitate to those that share their own interests and values.
Anyway, I consider myself fairly conservative and didn't dare whine and tattle as a child, lest I get the crap beat out of me by my hippy, drug-addicted father. That is until I moved out at the age of 14 and had to start supporting myself. So yeah, I guess I'd call myself a pretty independent kid as well.
Btw, I'm NOT religious (though I AM tolerant of those that are), I don't own a gun (but I support the 2nd amendment), and I have NO tolerance for racism. But you're damn right I don't appreciate handing over nearly half of my hard-earned income to govt!