A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll exposes generational and political divides that echo loudly and transformatively across our culture, politics and governance.
Why it matters: Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, the pollster on earlier editions of this survey, told The Journal that the combined toll of political division, COVID and the lowest economic confidence in decades appear to be having "a startling effect on our core values."
"Patriotism, religious faith, having children and other priorities that helped define the national character for generations are receding in importance to Americans," The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Zitner writes. "Tolerance for others, deemed very important by 80% of Americans as recently as four years ago, has fallen to 58%." Continue here....
-- Mike Allen
- 🇺🇸 Patriotism is very important: Dropped from 70% to 38%.
- 🙏 Religion is very important: Dropped from 62% to 39%.
- 🍼 Having children is very important: Dropped from 59% to 30%.
- 🙋 Community involvement is very important: Dropped from 47% to 27%.
- 💰 Money is very important: Rose from 31% to 43%.
Two questions, at the very least, emerge: Why is this happening? What does it mean?
These are related, but also separate questions. We can't answer one simply with the other, as we are so often wont to do. Well, you know why this is happening...because of this. Or, you what this means, that's why this is happening.... Um, maybe. But, shouldn't we do a little more work than that?
For one thing, our values do change. Accepting that can hurt a little, especially to the degree we are vested in them for one reason or another. But, really, isn't it obvious that we value some things that our parents don't? Or, that we don't value some things that they did? Any even cursory review of history will show how obvious this is (everything from monarchies to science to sexuality...did I mention technology, work, food, leisure, culture...guns?). This doesn't mean that we're 'caving' either (it certainly could mean that — some of that surely is happening, but it doesn't automatically mean that). It also doesn't mean that the values that seem to be left behind weren't valid (or aren't still). At the very least, it probably means that there are cycles to values (like everything else) and that there is far more fashionability to them than we prefer to admit.
There are all kinds of forces at work all the time and just because something is changing doesn't have to mean that it is obsolete. It could just mean that other forces are prevailing in this moment and it would be more helpful to understand them than to simply gripe about their impact.
While we want answers to such things, this is often the problem. We just wants answers. We want someone to tell us. We don't want to think about things; it's too much work. But, the real answers are more likely in the questions themselves. In other words, in the process of questioning. What are the questions we should be asking? Might be a more useful approach.
So, why does it appear to be the case that money is rising in terms of our collective value-system? Is there a relationship between that and the values that appear to dropping? We could just rant and blame or we could think about it (not to mention actually talk about it). We could work at understanding what it doesn't mean, too. Why, for example, is having children less important to people? What if it's because of money? Or, something else? How related are the changes in perceptions about religion and patriotism? Are both of those values impacted by our sense of community — lack of it, need for it, etc.? What macro-dynamics are impacting something like tolerance? Are all of these independent of each other or somehow all influencing each other?
A few weeks ago, I updated a post through-out the day, as additional thoughts came to mind. I may do that on this one, too. Maybe there are more examples that would facilitate more questions, better questions, more helpful questions...yet to be asked.
Here's one — this observation reflects a change in values:
Do we need to show facts that way or this way?
Perhaps this just underscores the point of yesterday's post....
My wife is a teacher — talk about core values AND the things that impact them!
