Furthering the notion that Americans are genetically primed to take risks is a story in today’s New York Times (subscription required).

Geneticists who study behavior and personality have
known for 30 years that genes play a large role in people’s instinctive
emotional responses to certain issues, their social temperament.

It is not that opinions on specific issues are written into a person’s
DNA. Rather, genes prime people to respond cautiously or openly to the
mores of a social group.

Surprisingly, attitudes on school prayer, property taxes, and
capitalism are among those most tied to DNA. This may give further
credence to the idea of a “Roe Effect” as well and the optimism in today’s WSJ column by Micklethwait and Wooldridge.