The American Paradox
Daniel Henninger points out a rather ridiculous paradox in the polls of American voters. While some 80% believe their personal lives are on track and are satisfied with those lives, a full 70% also believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction. This is the great paradox heading into the elections - one that has actually existed for all the years the United States has existed.
On New Year's Eve, Gallup's poll delivered unto us the good news that 84% of Americans say they are satisfied with how things are going for them personally. What Woody Allen might say about that phenomenal datum of good cheer one can only guess. One then has to account for the darker data Gallup released two weeks earlier: Some 70% of those responding believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction.
Explanations for this paradox would fill screen after screen of comments on Internet blogs, written no doubt by the 16% who can never be satisfied with "how things are going." Sample: It's the 46 million uninsured, stupid!
Starting tomorrow morning, with the results of the Iowa caucuses, the state of the nation likely will strike many as worse. Aaargh, those fools in Iowa have handed victory to the most dangerous man or woman in America. This we've gotta stop!
For the next 10 months they will be agitated, glum and apoplectic about many things. The candidates themselves, professional marketers of anxiety, will contribute. Then come a Wednesday morning after the presidential vote in November, nearly half the country, the losers, will see darkness falling across the land.
Before any of this happens, let's get a grip. To quote a children's classic I read out loud perhaps a hundred times: "Could be worse!"
It could, indeed. Henninger points out some amazing statistics:
In 1980, deaths per 100,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 14 was 30.6; by 2004, that number fell to 16.8. Some 25 years ago, daily cigarette smoking among 12th graders was about 21%; in 2006 it was about 12% for both males and females. Childhood immunizations are rising steadily.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control noted that the death rate in 2004 fell by 3.8% in a year, "a record low historical figure." Life expectancy for men and women at birth in 1940 was 63 years; it is now nearly 78 years. We, or someone, must be doing something right.
As always, Henninger's entire column is worth reading. People are prone to sitting in front of their large screen televisions complaining about the economy. Call it the "I'm Ok, You, However, Are a Mess," theory of social organization. In many ways, this is the result of the way the media covers news. For every good bit of news, there has to be an analysis warning of unspecified - often completely fictional - dangers that lie ahead. Every silver lining has a big, black cloud behind it, so to speak. The problems have been exacerbated by the 24-hour television news cycle. But it really has existed all along in this country.
So, keep in mind that the politicians and media have an unofficial motto, "Good news is no news." It helps keep things in perspective.
By martian, Thursday, 3 January , 2008 @ 10:42 am
This paradox has been fed and nurtured over the last two decades by the Democratic Party with intent and malice aforethought. They continually label the Republicans as the “party of fear” and then do their best to scare the pants off of everybody. They tell seniors that Republicans will take away their Social Security (while their elected members do their absolute best to keep anyone from fixing the Social Security pyramid scheme). They tell minorities that the Republicans are out to get them (while they find every opportunity to play up any divisive issue they can find). They call the Republicans divisive and then look for way to create divisivness.
Where they play on the paradox is that they completely ignore the type of statistics that are cited in Henninger’s article - never let the facts get in the way. Instead, they seek out every issue that they can put a negative spin on and then play it up in order to make that person “watching a $700, 32-inch Samsung flat-panel, high-definition TV with Lou’s sad song flowing through Monster digital coax cables to five Onkyo HT-SR800 home theater speakers.” feel as guilty as possible. The more guilty they can make him/her feel, the more they can convince the average citizen the the country is “going in the wrong direction”. And of course all of us who are relatively comfortable - that 84% of Americans say they are satisfied with how things are going for them personally - are prone to guilt BECAUSE things are going well for us personally. There seems to be something in the American soul that takes a secret (guilty?) pleasure in feeling guilty. The Democrats paly on that. The Republican Party should take them to task for this. If the Dems want to call the Republicans the “Party of Fear” - the Republicans should retaliate by labelling the Democrats the “Party of Guilt” - and give examples to show why. There are so many examples to choose from!
By clifto, Thursday, 3 January , 2008 @ 12:35 pm
What paradox?! My personal life is run MUCH better than the nation is run.