American Values Decline with American Community
Document Type
Essay
Publication Title
Law & Liberty
Publication Date
4-3-2023
Abstract
(Excerpt)
A poll on American values in the Wall Street Journal last week has caused a stir. The poll, which the Journal conducted along with the well-regarded NORC at the University of Chicago—the non-partisan research organization that also conducts the biennial General Social Survey (GSS), widely seen as the gold standard in public opinion studies—shows a marked shift in American values over the last 25 years, towards an apathetic detachment from the wider society.
According to the new poll, only 38% of Americans today say that “patriotism” is very important to them, compared to 70% in 1998. Only 39% say “religion” is very important, compared to 69% 25 years ago. “Community involvement” and “having children” have also decreased in importance, as has “tolerance for others,” notwithstanding the unrelenting focus on “inclusion” in the media, elite educational institutions, government, and large corporations. “The only priority . . . that has grown in the past quarter century,” the Journal reports, “is money, which was cited as very important by 43% in the new survey, up from 31% in 1998.”
The poll also reveals other striking trends. Although the change in values has been going on for a quarter-century, sharp breaks seem to have occurred just in the last few years. For example, more than 60% of Americans thought that community involvement was very important in 2019. Only 27% of us do now. And the shift in values appears particularly pronounced among young Americans. While 59% of seniors say that patriotism is very important to them, only 23% of adults below the age of 30 agree. Fifty-five percent of seniors say religion is very important to them, compared to only 31% of younger respondents.
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