https://theprogressnetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-good-list
"Earlier this month, Pew Research Center published a depressing but
unsurprising survey: Among 25 countries, Americans are most likely to view
their fellow citizens as morally bad. We actually beat Turkey and Brazil for
the top spot, two countries where the percentage of people who rate their
compatriots negatively sits in the high 40s. In fact, Americans have the
ignominious distinction of being the one country surveyed where a majority of
adults—53%—describe their compatriots’ ethics as bad.
Yikes.
The survey authors wondered if Americans are particularly moralistic, until
they found that we are actually middle of the pack when it comes to judging
certain moral issues, such as abortions, and among the most accepting when it
comes to others, like smoking marijuana or gambling. (One exception: cheating
on your spouse. Nine in 10 Americans say an extramarital affair is morally
wrong.)1
Instead, the authors seem to suspect that Americans’ low rating of Americans
may be a stand-in for a disapproval with the governing party. Although
partisans from both sides are likelier than ever to view those in the opposing
party as immoral, in the survey it was Democrats and Democrat-leaning
independents who were more likely than Republicans to deem fellow Americans as
morally and ethically bad, 60% vs. 46%. The pattern holds in half of the
countries surveyed, with those under the thumb of a leadership they don’t like
more inclined to view fellow citizens as morally suspect.
To which I can imagine the retort: Well, it was our fellow Americans who voted
for that guy in the White House, was it not?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
