Americans are widely pessimistic about democracy in the United States
By Nicholas Riccardi & Linley Sanders
Associated Press
July 14, 2023
"Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults give high ratings to the way democracy is working in the United States or how well it represents the interests of most Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
"Majorities of adults say U.S. laws and policies do a poor job of representing what most Americans want on issues ranging from the economy and government spending to gun policy, immigration and abortion.
"The findings illustrate widespread political alienation as a polarized country limps out of the pandemic and into a recovery haunted by inflation and fears of a recession.
"Overall, about half the country — 49% — say democracy is not working well in the United States... About half also say each of the political parties is doing a bad job of upholding democracy...
"'They’re fighting over something, and it has nothing to do with the economy.'
"Karalyn Kiessling, a researcher at the University of Michigan who participated in the poll, sees troubling signs all around her... She fears increased partisan nastiness is scaring people away from these crucial outlets.
"'I think people are less willing to get involved because it’s become more contentious,' Kiessling said. 'When you have a base that’s a minority of what general Americans think, but they’re the loudest voices in the room, that’s who politicians listen to.'
"The poll shows that the vast majority of Americans — 71% — think what most Americans want should be highly important when laws and policies are made, but only 48% think that’s actually true in practice.
"And views are even more negative when it comes to specific issues: About two-thirds of adults say policies on immigration, government spending, abortion policy and gun policy are not representative of most Americans’ views, and nearly that many say the same about the economy as well as gender identity and LGBTQ+ issues. More than half also say policies poorly reflect what Americans want on health care and the environment.
"'It seems like this always happens in the U.S. and we always prevail,' Stanley Hobbs, a retired autoworker in Detroit and a Democrat, said. 'I just hope we prevail this time.'"
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