American democracy, we have been told, is in grave peril.
It’s a perspective we hear echoed dozens of times per day in the mainstream media: If this next election doesn’t go precisely how our hallowed elitists desire, surely tyranny will follow. As one of those sagacious experts, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, recently put it on Twitter, “It’s terrifying how many Americans will choose literal fascism, female serfdom, climate collapse and the reversal of everything from Social Security & Medicare to student loan relief bc they think giving Republicans the power to investigate Hunter Biden will bring down gas prices.”
Polls show that this message has filtered down to many Americans, mostly Democrats. According to the latest New York Times/Sienna poll, fully 11% of Democrats say “the state of our democracy” is the most important problem facing the country, compared with 17% who cite the economy and another 17% who cite inflation; 9% of independents feel the same way. More shocking, just 46% of Americans say that “America’s political system can still address the nation’s problems,” compared with 48% who say that the nation is “too divided politically to solve its problems.” And fully 74% of likely voters say American democracy is currently under threat.
All of which imply we should be pretty damned worried about the state of the republic.
And yet when we drill down, we see broad agreement among Americans that their neighbors aren’t their enemies; that our institutions are worth upholding; that the only remedy for our current political ills is to continue to work within the constitutional system. According to that same poll, just 20% of voters say they’ve had a disagreement with family or friends over politics that hurt their relationship; just 14% say that someone’s political views “tell you a lot about whether someone is a good person”; just 30% say that presidents should violate the laws to pursue “what they think is best.”
Just 14% of likely voters say we will need to “go outside the law” to fix our democracy — 16% of Democrats, 15% of independents and 9% of Republicans. Even among those who say we must “go outside the law,” just 12% say Americans should take up arms or participate in violence — meaning just 1.7% of likely voters advocate civil war. Meanwhile, 84% of likely voters say we can fix our democracy without destroying the system.
As for the media’s favorite Trumpian conspiracy theory, QAnon, just 5% of likely voters call the theory believable.
So, why precisely are so many Americans worried about the state of democracy? They’re worried that their political opponents will threaten the institutions they cherish. Forty-seven percent of voters declare former President Donald Trump a “major threat to democracy,” and 39% declare President Joe Biden to be the same. But shockingly, the institution they blame most for threatening democracy is the mainstream media, with 59% of likely voters, including 54% of independents, calling the mainstream media a “major threat to democracy.”
Perhaps that’s the biggest takeaway from all this data: that Americans don’t hate each other, but they’re being polarized by a media determined to divide them from one another, whipping up madness where mere concern would suffice. And what’s more, Americans can feel it.
All of which means that sanity may reign once again, so long as Americans reconnect with each other rather than believing everything they see on the news.
Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM.
Boycott the Main Street media until they agree to stop dividing the country.
The Main Street media and the Democratic Party is the cause for dividing the country and it must stop,
“the nation is “too divided politically to solve its problems.” And that is a correct conclusion. Here’s why it is correct: Our current society’s multiethnic and diverse admixture has taken away what we once had in the way of commonality of purpose. Absent the commonality of purpose, political compromise is impossible. Compromise in American politics requires unity of purpose, and as such is a virtue that is distinctly American. Compromise is only possible among competing interests when they can agree on an overarching goal. That has been, and will continue to be, impossible in the USA. Harvard professor of political science Robert D. Putnam conducted a nearly decade long study how multiculturalism affects social trust. [ Putnam, Robert D., “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century — The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize,” Scandinavian Political Studies 30 (2), June 2007.]
He surveyed 26,200 people in 40 American communities, finding that when the data were adjusted for class, income and other factors, the more racially diverse a community is, the greater the loss of trust. People in diverse communities “don’t trust the local mayor, they don’t trust the local paper, they don’t trust other people and they don’t trust institutions,” writes Putnam. In the presence of such ethnic diversity, Putnam maintains that “We hunker down. We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it’s not just that we don’t trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don’t trust people who don’t look like us.” Ethnologist’s find that “Relatively homogeneous societies invest more in public goods, indicating a higher level of public altruism. For example, the degree of ethnic homogeneity correlates with the government’s share of gross domestic product as well as the average wealth of citizens. Case studies of the United States, Africa and South-East Asia find that multi-ethnic societies are less charitable and less able to cooperate to develop public infrastructure. A recent multi-city study of municipal spending on public goods in the United States found that ethnically or racially diverse cities spend a smaller portion of their budgets and less per capita on public services than do the more homogenous cities.”
Yet, Russia is teaching their Kindergarten children (RIGHT NOW) how to use AK-47’s and Grenades (FACT) while DICTATOR Beijing biden FORCING OUR CHILDREN how to Crossdress and change your true sex and be a LOSER WOKE.
Guess which children will WIN in a conflict. Won’t be ours unfortunately as DICTATOR Beijing biden pushing us closer to NUCLEAR WAR.
We can do a lot better than blame Democrats & main stream media for all the unrest in USA. Take a hard look at FOX news & coverage & protection of Donald Trump, that is very obvious one-sided because they want his patronage. Both parties want to control the media so that you only hear one side of the story. The 1st amendment gives us the freedom to listen to all sides of the story & then make up your own mind. And my opinion, Trump would have been a better leader if he did not use Twitter both day & night to attack issues in the media world. And now, Trump has formed his own TruthSocial site or something like that .
The United States is NOT a Democracy. The United States is a Republic with democratic principles. Get a book and learn the difference ????.
Screw democracy and any idiot that helps the Dems by calling the United States a democracy. The founders despised a true democracy as nothing more than an elected tyrant. That’s why they created our Republican system of government that restricts the power of the federal government.You want a Democracy??? Just listen to a recent rant from Liawatha herself, Elizabeth Warren: “In a Democracy the majority rules. We have a majority so we need to rule and just destroy the filibuster.”THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WERE PROTECTING US FROM.The United States is a Constitutional Republic. We are better than a Democracy.
I’m talking to ALL AMERICANS right now on…WHY did the DOJ Indict 22 Pro-Life Protesters and ZERO Pregnancy Center FIREBOMBERS?
Not to mention, ZERO ARRESTS and ZERO INDICTMENTS for TERRORIST antifa and TERRORIST blm for RIOTS DESTROYING POLICE STATIONS, ASSAULTING POLICE, SETTING BUILDINGS ON FIRE INCLUDING TRYING TO BLOW THEM UP, U.S. GOVERNMENT BUILDING’S, PERSONAL PROPERTY, and ATTACKING INNOCENT PEOPLE.
WHY ILLEGAL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL
RAID on PRESIDENT TRUMP?
YET, the DOJ has NOT ARRESTED
Hunter Biden on LYING about his Gun purchase Application (FELONY) and ALL the EVIDENCE on his LAPTOPS for CORRUPTION with Daddy DICTATOR Beijing biden?
The DOJ, FBI is CORRUPT just like DICTATOR Beijing biden and Hunter Biden.
Their record and actions speak volumes.
So, WHY Indict 22 AMERICANS
(VIOLATING THEIR U.S. CONSTITUTION RIGHTS TO PROTEST) but ZERO INDICTMENTS for PREGNANCY CENTER FIREBOMBER’S?
Thank you AMAC for your help.
WHY won’t DICTATOR Beijing biden Release the EPA METHANE REPORT TILL AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS?
ANSWER: Weasel knows that GASOLINE PRICES would JUMP SKY HIGH BEFORE Midterms.
So, Weasel will WAIT TILL DAY AFTER when GASOLINE and REST of FUELS
WILL JUMP SKY HIGH.
That’s playing politics and NOT in the BEST INTEREST in the UNITED STATES of AMERICA and AMERICAN PEOPLE’S WALLET.
Talk to each other ? I totally agree. Conversation is about respecting each other, understanding each other, and NOT about being critical.
If you want to understand why all the chaos, including all the division among Americans, go to the United Nations website and read Agenda 2030 (which used to be called, Agenda 21). Agenda 2030 is The Plan. This chaos is Not by chance. It is in Agenda 2030 and has been the plan for decades. If you are thinking WHY – read Agenda 2030. It’s all in there. I read it more than 10 years ago (almost had a heart attack) and everything is going according to their Agenda 2030 plan. Biden is NOT an old bungler. All is being done according to The Plan. As far as all division among Americans – it’s the old ‘divide and conquer”, and it’s working.
Ben Shapiro is truly an inspiration. He started by honestly sharing his struggles with an addiction to self-pleasuring and now look at all the good he is spreading.