The editors of this paper frequently get asked why they publish so many letters that tilt leftward in a state where so many voters tilt rightward.

The obvious answer, straightforwardly given, is that the paper receives far more letters that lean left than right; in particular, far more critical of Donald Trump than favorable.

As a phenomenon likely replicated in the newspapers of other "red" states as well, it tells us something about the differences between right and left, especially the greater intensity of leftist belief.

Most conservatives I know, even of the intellectually inclined sort, don't really like politics much, and to the degree they become politically active beyond periodically stepping into polling booths it is often in response to what they see as leftist obnoxiousness and pestering. Conservatism of this fashion is perhaps more a disposition than a strongly held ideology, one which firmly subordinates political concerns to non-political.

As David Brooks caught some of this in a New York Times piece a couple months ago when he noted that "conservatives are more likely to join religious congregations, more likely to see themselves as very patriotic, more likely to volunteer in their communities, and more likely to give to charity." They are also more likely to get married and have kids.

In contrast, leftists are more likely to write letters to the editor for the same reason they are more likely to show up for political protests: Politics is often the most important thing in their lives, with the edge over other endeavors and interests increasing still more the further leftward you move on the continuum (toward "full woke").

If conservatism is something of an inclination or disposition, leftism of the more radical sort is a form of all-consuming identity, one that fills vacuums in otherwise empty lives and comprehensively guides behavior. Politics consequently occupies much of the space for leftists that is usually taken up by family, religion, career and community for conservatives.

The propensity for leftists to make politics central to their identity and derive meaning in life primarily from it also both reinforces and is reinforced by their discontent with just about everything around them.

It makes little sense, after all, to be obsessed with politics, to make it your primary interest, if you believe things are generally right with the world. You obsess about politics only when you think there are so many wrongs afflicting society, so much injustice and forms of oppression to be fought against. Leftism thus constitutes an ongoing search for new causes to fight on behalf of, in a way that mobilizes adherents and creates solidarity among them.

The left always plays offense; whereas conservatives have so often relegated themselves to blunting leftist enthusiasms, to, in Bill Buckley's famous words, "stand athwart history, yelling Stop."

If those on the radical left want to change just about everything, conservatives just want to be left alone. The former dictates an excessively politicized life, the latter an effort to escape from the political.

The obsession with politics and related discontent with societal conditions also helps to explain another much-noted characteristic that distinguishes left from right: presumptions of moral superiority.

Leftists see themselves as on a mission to save the world; that others apparently don't care as much as they do about the suffering of their fellow man is taken as less a sign of leftist neurosis than the moral inadequacies of the less engaged. Leftists are combating racism, sexism, homophobia and whatever other ills plague society, and this heroic self-appointed role inherently places them on a higher moral plane and absolves them of such sins while implicating just about everyone else in them.

Put differently, and for them conveniently, leftists can't be racist or sexist, only others can.

This need to demonstrate moral superiority vis-à-vis their neighbors necessarily makes much of leftism performative in nature, dedicated to signaling both contempt for deplorables and membership in an enlightened tribe.

Being vocally left-leaning thus provides social status benefits and forms of self-congratulation that being conservative doesn't (if anything, in terms of the broader culture and the opinion-formulating institutions, conservatism tends to be rather lonely and something of a social liability). There are many places where conservatives feel compelled to suppress their beliefs, but it is difficult to think of any where leftism isn't openly and enthusiastically expressible.

Leftism thus constitutes something of a mutual admiration society; a quality which has only become more pronounced in the Trump era, as the "brave" resistance to the orange ogre and leftism have essentially fused.

Only someone with a powerful desire to signal virtue would put "Hate doesn't live here" signs in their front yard (containing, as it does, the suggestion that the hate can be found next door, across the street, and around the corner).

The left has a tremendous advantage in terms of political energy and purpose. It has the disadvantage of being comprised overwhelmingly of weird people you probably wouldn't want to spend time with.

Freelance columnist Bradley R. Gitz, who lives in Batesville, received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois.

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