We’ve examined political polarization from numerous angles in this space. (To find related entries, just click on the search icon in the upper right hand corner of the “Latest Articles” page.) But the the topic is important; indeed, countering it is one of the reasons EnCiv was founded. And a flurry of new studies have surfaced in recent months.
Among the more interesting of these new findings are those released by the Pew Research Center on the topic of trust. Or perhaps I should say distrust, since it turns out that we Americans aren’t a very trusting lot. According to Pew, usually a reliable source, significant majorities harbor distrust of the media and the federal government. Significant majorities also perceive that distrust–in each other as well as the government–is on the rise and that it’s making it harder to solve the nation’s problems. Despite these views, distrust ranks way down on people’s lists of major concerns, far behind drug addiction, affordable education, and ethics in government. For specifics on these and related findings, click here.
