Yes, we're divided. But new AP-NORC poll shows Americans still agree on most core American values

MicroWave@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 60 points – Yes, we're divided. But new AP-NORC poll shows Americans still agree on most core American values
apnews.com

Despite the country’s deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American, according to a new poll.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the United States’ identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same way about the freedom of religion.

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I don't think these were the things anyone was claiming we were divided over. Of course if you get a bunch of Americans together in a room and ask them if they support freedom of the press and the right to assemble and associate, they'll say yes, but that doesn't mean they aren't still very divided. Ask them what the role of government should be, whether we should provide universal healthcare and tuition free higher education for everyone, if taxes should be raised on corporations and the wealthy, what our immigration policy should be, etc, I'm sure you'll get a lot less agreement.

yeah they say they want freedom of religion but rephrase it to say should satanists be allowed to practice their faith. Or change equal protections to if xstian small bussiness owners should be able to not hire a satanist. Or should felons be able to vote.

“I care about liberty, personal freedom, and equal protection.”

And

“We should ban people from being trans.”

Are incompatible statements though. We don’t actually share these core beliefs with them, because their interpretation of these core beliefs is guided by bigotry.

Americans are divided by propaganda, not values. We're busy fighting bogus culture war fights about "wokeness," while the ultra-rich steal everything that isn't nailed down and make our lives miserable.

A more pessimistic assessment of the country was reflected in another finding — that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe the nation’s democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy.

The tension between the broad consensus on the country’s fundamental values and discontent with how well its form of government is working is not a surprise, experts say.

“Part of it is really our leaders are not reflecting the electorate, and they behave in a way that’s much more polarized than what the electorate is,” said Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University.

30% of Americans think our system is working....

Because we're stuck with picking between a fascist dictator and an elderly conservative that only stops funding a genocide to kick it's victims and deny them aid.

There's no option for voters with functional empathy.

And that depresses turnout, and that's the only way the fascist can win.

The easy solution, is for Dems to just run a decent human as candidate, but they refuse.

"So maybe it’s not the politicians who suck; maybe it’s something else. Like the public. That would be a nice realistic campaign slogan for somebody: “The public sucks. Elect me.” Put the blame where it belongs: on the people. Because if everything is really the fault of politicians, where are all the bright, honest, intelligent Americans who are ready to step in and replace them? Where are these people hiding? The truth is, we don’t have people like that." - George Carlin

Carlin was wrong. We absolutely DO have people like that but our 2 Party Political System works overtime to keep them off the ballot.

You will rarely get to vote for one of those people not because they don't exist but because the D & R Corporation's don't want you to.

Let's say you want to go to the Olympics for the 100m sprint.

You can bust ass and train your whole life. But there's no testing for early events, so right up till qualifiers, everyone else is on steroids and amphetamines.

It would be very very hard to outrun them if you weren't using it

So you never make it far enough to even make the Olympic team, even if those PED users have to quit a year before the event which makes them slower than you were at your peak.

In politics the PEDs is money from shady sources, and the shady people using don't have to stop when they get close to the real event, they actually get more and it's totally legal.

An ethical.person following the rules will rarely beat a sociopath willing to do anything just to win.

When George Carlin was alive, it was a lot easier for a random ethical person to get involved in politics. But both political parties have done everything they can to change that. Which includes legalizing unfair advantages they have like deep pocket donors.

Republicans are straight up shit. Democrats are shit, too, and are using that to tell us they're not as shit as Republicans, and that if we don't vote for them, we get shit. But at the end of the day, we are getting shit either way.

If both sides are shit Republicans are the kind that runs down your leg in the middle of Christmas dinner while Democrats are the kind that has the decency to wait until you're in the toilet.

In other words, I feel your sentiment but still, fuck this both sides are the same bullshit.

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This is the best summary I could come up with:

The overall findings are striking because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during a volatile presidential election year.

“If you get a bunch of normal people at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues, there’s a lot more convergence than you might imagine,” said Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

About three-quarters of U.S. adults agree that a democratically elected government is extremely or very important, and about 8 in 10 think the same about the ability of people living in the U.S. to get good jobs and achieve the American dream.

Juan Sierra, 51, a naturalized citizen whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic after a hurricane destroyed his father’s cement business, said it is very important to him that the U.S. be seen as a place of opportunity.

Susan Johnson, a 76-year-old Republican living in the Dallas suburbs, said the nation’s standing as a beacon to others who need refuge is very important, but said that could not override concerns about border security.

Many younger people don’t remember a time when those with opposing views and from different political backgrounds could get together and “come over to your house.” Their frame of reference is the hyper partisanship of the Trump years, he said.

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I’m mixed on the freedom of religion. In theory it’s awesome. In practice it’s awful. In theory taking it away would solve a lot of problems. In practice it would just cement them