Americans are grumpy
Quite grumpy indeed – according to this Quinnipiac poll, anyway. Majority approval of something, anything? Faggetaboutit. They don’t much like Trump or anything he’s doing, they don’t like Democrats, they don’t like Republicans. Close to 50% would like a third party but some sort of Platonic third party rather than anything currently offered, including the one Musk is attempting to start.
You can find more of the details at the link, and the sampling statistics are here.
What do I think? I think I don’t trust polls, and “approve versus disappove” polls in particular tell us very little about the why. The pollster with the best track record in recent years is Rasmussen, and this isn’t Rasmussen.
Nevertheless, I do think this poll is measuring something, and that something is general grumpiness and dissatisfaction. Why so grumpy? Don’t people have it pretty good, compared to so much of the past? Yes. So part of it is a perception, on the part of people most of whom haven’t known intense hardship, that they are entitled to a life that should be more perfect.
But part of it is real unhappiness at lives that don’t seem as meaningful as in the past. Perhaps overcoming real hardship gives more of a sense of satisfaction. And the 24-hour news cycle, always trying to stir up angst, is probably a factor – as is social media versus in-person socializing, the weakening of the family and religious institutions, an educational system that drums into students’ heads that America is a deeply flawed and sinful country, the after-effects of the COVID lockdowns, the distrust between men and women, the rise of easily-accessible porn, and the hookup culture.
I’m sure I’m missing a few things there, too. But that’s enough, I think, to account for a lot.
I’m Grumpy, leave me alone.
I’m actually cheerful in my personal life, for the most part, where the problems I have are things that can be fixed. The things I complain about here are generally much too big for me to do anything about, and that’s why I complain instead of just fixing them. They’re not fixable by me, at least not by myself.
The country has been ill-governed in some respects for 60-odd years and in those respects the trouble gets worse and worse. What elections tell you is, in a rough way, what voters will put up with; that’s often a great deal. The primary problem is our political class, which is composed of lunkheads and malevolent people (and malevolent lunkheads). The political class in turn reflects the moral decline of the professional-managerial element generally.
Quinnipiac is a rather unreliable pollster of course if you are inundated with negative info well Unstable people act irrationally
https://x.com/KariLake/status/1945924932464206051
Given that close to 50% of the population hates the other 50% because they support Trump could certainly skew any such poll.
I’m pretty happy since the election and not dissatisfied. But those others…whew!!
I’m a grumpy old curmudgeon. Most of my grumpiness is the result of seeing so much ill-advised government policy that adversely affects me. Anti-fossil fuel policies, over regulation of building policies, high-interest rate Fed policies, and anti-ICE policies to name a few. All are causing me to pay more for everything. Yes, Trump is working to change those things, but the wheels grind slowly. My fixed income buys less every month.
Yes, I have savings and am not destitute. However, the need to tap those savings to pay bills every month doesn’t make me happy. Especially considering that all these policies are unnecessary.
I think part of the elites plan is to fragment the country as far as possible so that we cannot agree on even critical matters. Matters that, not that long ago, we would be united on. Like the barbarity of mutilating 12 year olds.
Never, never underestimate boredom when it comes to the electorate!
We know of the grumpy.
But what of the threat posed by the sleepy? Dopey?