The Future of Values Voting?
Here's some reading material that might be of interest, if you're interested in politics and/or what Americans think on the so-called "values" issues. It's a study of such by the Pew Center, and it suggests some surprising long-term trends.
posted by juvenal_urbino | 11:40 AM
8 Comments:
It'll be a couple of days 'til I have time to read it, JU. I'll get there though.
Any chance at a summary?
I went to the site & saw it was 112 pages long. I might try scanning through it later...
Sorry to have been absent. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things...
Basically, it suggests that on many "values" issues, the trend line is toward more liberal positions and away from conservative ones.
Examples:
69% believe "government should care for those who can't care for themselves" -- up 12 points since 1994.
12% of people identify themselves as "secular" -- up from 8% in 1987. Among those under 30, the number is 19%; 11% for boomers; 5% for those born before the boom. Past studies indicate these numbers will hold true as these populations age.
(An interesting side note: more independents than Democrats identify themselves as "secular." Doesn't fit the GOP's stereotype of Democrats very well.)
66% favor gov't-guaranteed healthcare, even if it means higher taxes.
Overwhelming majorities still believe in God, prayer, and Judgment Day. The interesting thing, though, is the trend line: these numbers all grew during the 1990s, and all have fallen since 1999.
Republicans have grown more religious since 1987, and are more religious now (79%) than at any time during that period. Both Democrats (62%) and independents (65%) have grown less religious.
48% of Southerners report Bible study or prayer meeting attendance. 34% of the rest of the country.
I don't have time to go on, but look at pp.36ff for numbers on specific political "values" issues.
Interesting. I thought the whole slide began when "they" took prayer out of schools? :-)
I'm encouraged by the numbers on caring for the poor.
I'm flabbergasted that it's taken so long for healthcare to be emphasized by either political party.
There is an article in today's NY Times about how the income gap is growing. I think that this has contributed and will continue to contribute to the trends on at least some of the issues mentioned in the report you linked. (I only got to page 18, but it was really interesting).
The stat I found most interesting is that 34% agree with the statement that "success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control." This is the gospel I've been preaching for YEARS, Oprah be damned, but I had no idea that a solid third of Americans believed it too. It's not that optimistic a view, but I've always tended to be more of a realist about these things.
Overall, this stuff is heartening -- the election, and the trends in public opinion about most things. I was getting really discouraged in the 2001-2004 time frame, hitting rock bottom the day after the 2004 election. I really thought I was living in a nation of fascist folks with no critical thinking skills whatsoever. The success of the whole Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/Ann Coulter thing was so discouraging. And those folks are still out there of course, enabled to be even more uncivil by the anonymity of modern technology, esp. the internet. But it's nice to know that they are not (and probably never will be) a majority.
The success of the whole Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/Ann Coulter thing was so discouraging... But it's nice to know that they are not (and probably never will be) a majority.
Sadly, I think their brand of political rhetoric is and always will be popular with a majority of Americans. I think what might be setting in right now is a realization that even though most people like hearing that kind of stuff, it isn't necessarily a basis for good policy. (And I think that is setting in with the people themselves more than with their leaders.)
I think they're a majority in certain places (e.g. the South), but far from it in others so that their overall numbers are in the one-third range. That's my completely unscientific sense.
I don't think its majority status is limited to the South. My equally unscientific sense is that it encompasses the Midwest, Mountain West, Southwest, and Rust Belt. IOW, everything but the urban coastal areas.
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