Can America give hope a chance again?
As the new year kicks off, hope — that driver of optimism and American can-do spirit — is on the decline. In a recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 1,000 registered voters were asked what word best describes their mood. More than half chose “worried,” “exhausted,” or “fearful.” About 39 percent chose “hopeful” and a mere 5 percent picked “enthusiastic.” This is a downward shift from last year’s results, when 46 percent said they felt “hopeful”; 8 percent felt “enthusiastic”; and less than half — 44 percent — fell into the “worried,” “exhausted,” or “fearful” category.
Why so glum, America? “Last year, hope was higher with the anticipation of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk Political Research Center, which conducted the poll, told me. “But people had no way of anticipating the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supply chain issues, high gas prices, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates seemingly every month. The high hopes of health stability eroded due to economic instability as the reality of a US recession began to impact perceptions of some voters by the end of 2022.”
According to this poll, nearly two-thirds think the country is on the wrong track. The top issue on voters’ minds is inflation and the economy. Immigration and threats to democracy follow. All dreary stuff, for sure. But don’t you feel something else is causing the hope deficit? It goes beyond specific problems. It’s a pervasive feeling that, as a country, we no longer know how to rally around solutions — if they even exist. The political world seems out of control, propelled by anger, bitterness, and revenge and divided by world views so divergent that common ground seems impossible to reach. And that adds up to a big disconnect between what voters say they want and what happens in Washington.
In this poll, 57 percent of those surveyed also said they prefer a president who chooses compromise over principle, if standing on principle meant not getting things done. Fifty-two percent said Democrats are too extreme as a party and 61 percent said Republicans are too extreme. Yet on key issues, such as immigration, extreme views that lead to deadlock are exactly what we’ve got in Congress. Half of those surveyed said they view congressional investigations into the Biden administration and the Biden family as mainly a political effort to embarrass President Biden. But that’s what Republicans promise we can look forward to in 2023. (The poll did not ask any question about assorted investigations into Donald Trump. But who would be surprised if half the respondents also said they believed they, too, are politically motivated?)
Nations have mood swings, just like people. And of course, this country has endured and triumphed over many traumatic and polarizing events throughout its history. They include the Civil War, the Great Depression, and a vicious campaign led by US senator Joseph McCarthy against alleged communists, to mention just a few. Sixty years ago, president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In the years after that, the country was torn apart by an epic battle over civil rights, and then by nationwide protests against the Vietnam War. The shock over the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, united us briefly, then divided us over the wars that followed. After that, we somehow came together and, believe it or not, elected Barack Obama, who campaigned for president on a promise of “hope and change.” Then came Trump, more division, and a lot less hope, which is where we are today.
So where do we go from here? Some people will find cause for optimism in predictions of a mini-recession versus a really bad one. For the moment, at least, gas prices are down, too. Others may celebrate the return of family and social gatherings, as we learn to live with COVID-19. The midterm elections provided some reason to hope that those with the most extreme political views will have an increasingly difficult time winning office. Meanwhile, compromise was reached with the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects same-sex marriage.
Those are glimmers. I am hoping for more — that as a country, we give hope a chance again and have positive results to show for it. How about you?