Ryan Burge

You can control for whatever you want.

You can do whatever fancy math you want.

Conservatives are happier than liberal people are.

And I think part of it is like this idea that I hear all the time online, especially in the political world, is we live in the worst timeline possible and everything is catastrophized.

Like the polar ice caps are melting and Social Security is going to go bankrupt and we're being led by a fascist who's going to destroy American democracy.

Like how many times, especially now, like.

You and I both kind of came of age during the Obama ascendance, and Obama was a hopeful politician.

He was very good about instilling this idea in us that democracy could be good and society can be good and America can be a beacon of light and hope for the rest of the world.

Think about the politicians who have run for election.

How many of them are truly inspirational to us?

The answer is not very many, to be honest with you.

You know where I hear the most inspirational stuff?

Is at church.

You know, like that's where I get inspired to feel positive about things.

It helps reorient myself toward the positive things in life.

And whenever I give a talk, the last question I always get asked is, Brian, where's your hope?

And for me, it always does come back to faith at some level.

So if you don't have that, right, if you don't have that, you know, I have hope because I know how the story ends and this is not it.

Or I have hope that, you know, that Jesus' death and resurrection saved me from my sins.

Or, you know, like the hope that religion provides.