When I read your topic for today I was surprised because I think the total opposite to be true for myself. I’m glad people are having this experience that I find baffling. I do have moments of happiness but they are ephemeral. I think the key word you used was *authentic*. With all that is going on in the world, especially in the news, and my subsequent bouts of depression, I don’t have the luxury of being happy. I put on a happy face for the public and suffer in silence. How can any of you possibly be happy? I really don’t understand. Our nation is in crisis as well as our planet. If people are suffering in the world, I suffer too. This is how we lose our democracy and our planet. I am really stunned. Are we living in the same country?
I wonder if this dichotomy of public angst and private happiness (for the fortunate ones) is also what's fueling the public anger the country is experiencing; people have had enough no matter their political views.
The pandemic has exposed the flaws of American democracy for all to see, and it isn't pretty, which I suspect causes much of the public anger, and rightfully so.
This rage (often misdirected, especially by extremists on the right) has been simmering for a long time, while the GOP and corporate media place the blame squarely on Biden, rather than scrutinizing their own complicity in this maelstrom.
Privately, I do find myself turning inward by listening to music, exercising, reading and occasionally visiting my few close friends, which is very satisfying.
I've also pared back on spending, finding I don't need as much as I thought I once did.
I just hope enough Americans use this time of public rage/private happiness to reflect on what this country will become if Trump and his thugs get a second chance to destroy this country.
It's funny. Most of my life (almost all of it) I have had to be very careful about my very limited financial resources. Decisions about how I use my resources are always difficult and I don't see them becoming easier any time soon. But that is not necessarily a bad way to live. What it essentially means is that I allow myself a single solitary discretionary activity and then I give my heart and soul to that and try to make myself the best I can be. No excuses for my failures, no efforts to compete with others and squeeze them out, no shirking on what I try to give to others, to my mentors and teachers, and thereby to myself. I try to follow the words of wisdom of a very wise musician who said that the most important thing in life is to be a good person, loving and kind to others. Next comes being a good musician, respecting those who are also students of music and teachers of the same. Then--and only then--comes the goal of being a good player of an instrument or singer. That wise musician is the cellist YO-Yo Ma who was echoing the words of his teacher, Pablo Casals. Since Yo-Yo's passion is also mine, his words have special meaning for me. But--my discretionary activity aside--I will always eke out periodic gifts to others in distress and I feel such gifts help me more than them, seeing how small and yet meaningful the gifts are. Am I happy? I don't know, to be honest. But I also know that I try to make the best of each day, share what I know about music and about life, and forge on ahead. There are now so many who have so much less that we should all be following similar roads through life. I think, anyway.
The biggest issue facing all of us, is one you didn’t mention, climate change. Whether people understand it or not, we are looking at an abysmal future, and no one is willing to deal with it. On we go talking about the economy etc , when it is the very economy that will destroy us. Cognitive dissonance at it best.
Oh, just wanted to say. I believe many people I know are very worried about the US but won't talk about it. I think people are in survival mode, trying to keep it together but are scared, won't admit it but they are.
I agree. There is an upside to the pandemic. In 2020, we had a weird Christmas, just my husband and myself, but we watched all of our grandkids opening their Christmas presents on Zoom and FaceTime. We got out the good china and made ourselves a wonderful dinner. The whole day was very enjoyable. Christmas 2021 we celebrated with our family but not necessarily the ones who were originally coming because COVID caused a couple of changes in plans.
My husband and I are closer now than ever because we have more time together. We have daily cribbage games, exercise together, and take occasional walks to the park. We have had no problem getting used to the slower pace. It’s been quite refreshing. (We are retired, he’s 80 and I am 77. We have been married for 56 years)
The benefits of pandemic living which you list have been a particular boon to the large percentage of us who are (often secretly) introverts. Finally! A social environment geared toward our comfort zone! Finally, a world in which we can truly relax and feel at home, and continue to function...even more effectively, without the constant "noise" of forced gatherings and louder voices. What a gift!
Robert, Robert, Robert. You know better to put so much stock in polls! You don't compare the language of questions or the sample populations over time. The long-term comparisons are intellectually useless (not unlike inflation and unemployment rates). The personal satisfaction percentages cry out for scrutiny.
And the leap to your own personal satisfaction! How many Americans are in a comparable position. I would argue that--if we had reliable data--inc. multiple indicators and survey questions and samples that we could trust-- there would be a closer relationship between public and private levels.
To be honest, I have not experienced the positives that you mention in your message today. On the other hand, I am overwhelmed and often depressed about what is happening in the country. I don't see any signs of hope, because I am convinced that we have lost the resilience of Truth in the USA. One man has dumped vitriol (even in his profitable coffee-table book) - and the reach of his condemnation of everyone who doesn't agree with him has caused us to become a nation of bullies - and has oozed over into Canada where anguished protests are taking place. Here in Florida, our governor (who is the postmodern equivalent of Caligula) has so many red-meat laws being rushed through the legislature - Don't Say Gay, a Surgeon general who doesn't believe in science, control of teachers, the myth of CRT in the public schools, a proposal that tries to ensure that children should never experience sadness, a proposal for a State Militia and a group called the Election Police, and some weird bundled proposals that are supposed to kill all the WOKE stuff. I just feel overwhelmed by the insanity around me.
I suppose it depends on who you talk to and when you talk to them. I suppose the 900,000 people who died from covid are not happy. Nor are at least some of the family that lost them happy. I suppose the 50% that cannot work from home, and are risking getting sick are not happy. I suppose some the 50% who are working from home, and having to do childcare at the same time are not happy. Those of us, who suffer serious depressive episodes are almost by definition not happy. I think many people were not happy before covid and are not happy now. For myself, this is one of the most unhappy times of a very unhappy life.
If you take the numbers at face value, one interpretation might be that the vast majority of Americans don't see government policy as affecting their quality of life. If that is the case, that bodes ill for passing progressive legislation such as Build Back Better.
Another takeaway: The horrible inflation that the news media keeps railing about is apparently not adversely impacting the lives of 85% of Americans.
In partial response to Harvey Graff's comment, it would be useful if pollsters followed up with some more detailed questions about personal satisfaction, and also why respondents disapprove of the direction the country is taking. Maybe those who responded to the poll, even anonymously, felt some pressure to assert that they personally are doing fine, the good old American rugged individualism, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. When I see people angrily storming the Capitol, angrily disrupting school board meetings, holding vigils for loved ones killed by police or private gun violence, etc., when I read about so many people struggling to get by, these don't seem like happy, satisfied people, no matter what they tell pollsters. But maybe they are only the 15% of the population that has expressed dissatisfaction to pollsters.
What you are describing here is the satisfaction with the personal life of an upper middle income worker who has already gone through many of the stages of life—-professional career, marriage, family, achievements that the young have not gone through.
I would like to see the satisfaction numbers broken down by age groups.
As you know from Vietnam a public policy event can completely change those satisfaction numbers even amongst the upper middle income and stable working class of which you are a part. So I want to know what those most effected are feeling. We know the Trumpers fear losing what they have to the “others” but what about the young?
Prof Reich. Somehow, I find the social condition you describe in this morning's essay vaguely reminiscent of "The Hawthorne Effect." Even the gradual, but overall continual rise in satisfaction from '80 on in personal life - per the charts you provide - reminds me of the increase in job satisfaction in the experimental subjects at Hawthorne - perhaps not as dramatic, but nonetheless sustained. Even your discussion of how satisfied we are now that things have been "taken away" in the midst of the pandemic "smacks" of the increased productivity bump that resulted from having the perks of being in the study's experimental group taken away. I'm >not< suggesting any of what you discuss today is related to the Hawthorne effect in any meaningful way. I just find it eerily similar, or even parallel.
On the other hand, I'm concerned about the roughly 10% minimum the numbers suggest aren't so satisfied. If memory serves, it's generally held that around 3% of the population is responsible for roughly 90% of all crime. That 10% number seems to raise questions - to me - with regard to the current seeming spiking in crime, particularly violent crime.
However, another possible, and possibly more likely valid interpretation may suggest there's no "disconnect" between satisfaction with government and personal life. It may suggest there was never a "connect" between the two in the first place. Whatever else is going on with the voters, it doesn't appear they're necessarily "voting their wallets," per old-time common wisdom. On the other hand, I distinctly remember the old Republican pitch: "Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?" The Republicans are >definitely< not above attempting to take credit for that faux correlation, even if people's satisfaction with their lives would have increased anyway, since satisfaction with government and private lives seems to be - in that interpretation - a canard at the outset. Public perception is the key, here. In my interpretations here I took those numbers at face-value.
But I have some serious questions. I'd like to see the sample demographic. What regions were sampled? How many samples were taken on what sized regions? What was the "instantaneous" time-frame of the survey? On what date(s) was the survey conducted? What events were current at interview time? Is it a continuing survey, or is it a compilation of records? How long was the interview cycle? Does the survey graph the changing views over time of individuals in the sample? What were the dates of the records? Over how many iterations was that survey conducted? Exactly >who< responded to that survey and how was/were the sample(s) selected? What percentage of the selected sample(s) actually >responded< to that survey in the first place? I don't see any error margin or confidence interval numbers on the chart. It doesn't even show the sample size. How representative are those numbers? At this juncture, the numbers >I'd< be >most< interested in would be the number >and< demographic - not to mention, location - of those who >declined< to participate in this survey.
Gallup is a well-established, relatively reputable organization. That doesn't mean they're above a critical eye.
I like this piece, Professor. It hits home. My take on this: See the Good.
Many of us are worried about climate change, the political divides and of course trying to cope with all of the changes & losses due to the pandemic.
Some of us adapted easily to being isolated -especially avid readers, folks who eat almost everything they prepare themselves and those who derive pleasure from the outdoors and music. My mother always told me I was “in good company when alone.” I have ALWAYS known that despite my troubles, there are so many people who are worse off and it is they who snap me out any doldrums.
I am agoraphobic. And social phobic. Hence, as you can imagine, I live a reclusive life - a fact that before Covid caused me a great deal of inconvenience and shame. For me, the pandemic has been like a vacation. I don't have to make excuses for not going out or having people over. I don't have to feel guilty about it either. As an added bonus, the efforts I used to have to go to in order to have the things I need from the outside world delivered to me have been streamlined by the fact that EVERYONE now needs everything delivered and that process has been perfected across the board. Of course, the downside is that I'm more fearful than ever, and when going out is unavoidable - as my need for dental care has become urgent, for example - I am more panicked than ever. The outside world has actually become as frightening as I imagined, and people are scarier and more unpredictable in their fear and anger. I even quit social media at the beginning of the pandemic because of the anger there. I am very grateful to have a "safe place", a kindle, and my cat.
When I read your topic for today I was surprised because I think the total opposite to be true for myself. I’m glad people are having this experience that I find baffling. I do have moments of happiness but they are ephemeral. I think the key word you used was *authentic*. With all that is going on in the world, especially in the news, and my subsequent bouts of depression, I don’t have the luxury of being happy. I put on a happy face for the public and suffer in silence. How can any of you possibly be happy? I really don’t understand. Our nation is in crisis as well as our planet. If people are suffering in the world, I suffer too. This is how we lose our democracy and our planet. I am really stunned. Are we living in the same country?
Great essay.
I wonder if this dichotomy of public angst and private happiness (for the fortunate ones) is also what's fueling the public anger the country is experiencing; people have had enough no matter their political views.
The pandemic has exposed the flaws of American democracy for all to see, and it isn't pretty, which I suspect causes much of the public anger, and rightfully so.
This rage (often misdirected, especially by extremists on the right) has been simmering for a long time, while the GOP and corporate media place the blame squarely on Biden, rather than scrutinizing their own complicity in this maelstrom.
Privately, I do find myself turning inward by listening to music, exercising, reading and occasionally visiting my few close friends, which is very satisfying.
I've also pared back on spending, finding I don't need as much as I thought I once did.
I just hope enough Americans use this time of public rage/private happiness to reflect on what this country will become if Trump and his thugs get a second chance to destroy this country.
It's funny. Most of my life (almost all of it) I have had to be very careful about my very limited financial resources. Decisions about how I use my resources are always difficult and I don't see them becoming easier any time soon. But that is not necessarily a bad way to live. What it essentially means is that I allow myself a single solitary discretionary activity and then I give my heart and soul to that and try to make myself the best I can be. No excuses for my failures, no efforts to compete with others and squeeze them out, no shirking on what I try to give to others, to my mentors and teachers, and thereby to myself. I try to follow the words of wisdom of a very wise musician who said that the most important thing in life is to be a good person, loving and kind to others. Next comes being a good musician, respecting those who are also students of music and teachers of the same. Then--and only then--comes the goal of being a good player of an instrument or singer. That wise musician is the cellist YO-Yo Ma who was echoing the words of his teacher, Pablo Casals. Since Yo-Yo's passion is also mine, his words have special meaning for me. But--my discretionary activity aside--I will always eke out periodic gifts to others in distress and I feel such gifts help me more than them, seeing how small and yet meaningful the gifts are. Am I happy? I don't know, to be honest. But I also know that I try to make the best of each day, share what I know about music and about life, and forge on ahead. There are now so many who have so much less that we should all be following similar roads through life. I think, anyway.
The biggest issue facing all of us, is one you didn’t mention, climate change. Whether people understand it or not, we are looking at an abysmal future, and no one is willing to deal with it. On we go talking about the economy etc , when it is the very economy that will destroy us. Cognitive dissonance at it best.
Oh, just wanted to say. I believe many people I know are very worried about the US but won't talk about it. I think people are in survival mode, trying to keep it together but are scared, won't admit it but they are.
I agree. There is an upside to the pandemic. In 2020, we had a weird Christmas, just my husband and myself, but we watched all of our grandkids opening their Christmas presents on Zoom and FaceTime. We got out the good china and made ourselves a wonderful dinner. The whole day was very enjoyable. Christmas 2021 we celebrated with our family but not necessarily the ones who were originally coming because COVID caused a couple of changes in plans.
My husband and I are closer now than ever because we have more time together. We have daily cribbage games, exercise together, and take occasional walks to the park. We have had no problem getting used to the slower pace. It’s been quite refreshing. (We are retired, he’s 80 and I am 77. We have been married for 56 years)
The benefits of pandemic living which you list have been a particular boon to the large percentage of us who are (often secretly) introverts. Finally! A social environment geared toward our comfort zone! Finally, a world in which we can truly relax and feel at home, and continue to function...even more effectively, without the constant "noise" of forced gatherings and louder voices. What a gift!
Schlump! I haven't seen/heard that word in ages. I was born and continue to be a Schlump too. Schlumps of the world... UNITE AND TAKE OVER.
Robert, Robert, Robert. You know better to put so much stock in polls! You don't compare the language of questions or the sample populations over time. The long-term comparisons are intellectually useless (not unlike inflation and unemployment rates). The personal satisfaction percentages cry out for scrutiny.
And the leap to your own personal satisfaction! How many Americans are in a comparable position. I would argue that--if we had reliable data--inc. multiple indicators and survey questions and samples that we could trust-- there would be a closer relationship between public and private levels.
What do others think?
To be honest, I have not experienced the positives that you mention in your message today. On the other hand, I am overwhelmed and often depressed about what is happening in the country. I don't see any signs of hope, because I am convinced that we have lost the resilience of Truth in the USA. One man has dumped vitriol (even in his profitable coffee-table book) - and the reach of his condemnation of everyone who doesn't agree with him has caused us to become a nation of bullies - and has oozed over into Canada where anguished protests are taking place. Here in Florida, our governor (who is the postmodern equivalent of Caligula) has so many red-meat laws being rushed through the legislature - Don't Say Gay, a Surgeon general who doesn't believe in science, control of teachers, the myth of CRT in the public schools, a proposal that tries to ensure that children should never experience sadness, a proposal for a State Militia and a group called the Election Police, and some weird bundled proposals that are supposed to kill all the WOKE stuff. I just feel overwhelmed by the insanity around me.
I suppose it depends on who you talk to and when you talk to them. I suppose the 900,000 people who died from covid are not happy. Nor are at least some of the family that lost them happy. I suppose the 50% that cannot work from home, and are risking getting sick are not happy. I suppose some the 50% who are working from home, and having to do childcare at the same time are not happy. Those of us, who suffer serious depressive episodes are almost by definition not happy. I think many people were not happy before covid and are not happy now. For myself, this is one of the most unhappy times of a very unhappy life.
If you take the numbers at face value, one interpretation might be that the vast majority of Americans don't see government policy as affecting their quality of life. If that is the case, that bodes ill for passing progressive legislation such as Build Back Better.
Another takeaway: The horrible inflation that the news media keeps railing about is apparently not adversely impacting the lives of 85% of Americans.
In partial response to Harvey Graff's comment, it would be useful if pollsters followed up with some more detailed questions about personal satisfaction, and also why respondents disapprove of the direction the country is taking. Maybe those who responded to the poll, even anonymously, felt some pressure to assert that they personally are doing fine, the good old American rugged individualism, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. When I see people angrily storming the Capitol, angrily disrupting school board meetings, holding vigils for loved ones killed by police or private gun violence, etc., when I read about so many people struggling to get by, these don't seem like happy, satisfied people, no matter what they tell pollsters. But maybe they are only the 15% of the population that has expressed dissatisfaction to pollsters.
What you are describing here is the satisfaction with the personal life of an upper middle income worker who has already gone through many of the stages of life—-professional career, marriage, family, achievements that the young have not gone through.
I would like to see the satisfaction numbers broken down by age groups.
As you know from Vietnam a public policy event can completely change those satisfaction numbers even amongst the upper middle income and stable working class of which you are a part. So I want to know what those most effected are feeling. We know the Trumpers fear losing what they have to the “others” but what about the young?
Prof Reich. Somehow, I find the social condition you describe in this morning's essay vaguely reminiscent of "The Hawthorne Effect." Even the gradual, but overall continual rise in satisfaction from '80 on in personal life - per the charts you provide - reminds me of the increase in job satisfaction in the experimental subjects at Hawthorne - perhaps not as dramatic, but nonetheless sustained. Even your discussion of how satisfied we are now that things have been "taken away" in the midst of the pandemic "smacks" of the increased productivity bump that resulted from having the perks of being in the study's experimental group taken away. I'm >not< suggesting any of what you discuss today is related to the Hawthorne effect in any meaningful way. I just find it eerily similar, or even parallel.
On the other hand, I'm concerned about the roughly 10% minimum the numbers suggest aren't so satisfied. If memory serves, it's generally held that around 3% of the population is responsible for roughly 90% of all crime. That 10% number seems to raise questions - to me - with regard to the current seeming spiking in crime, particularly violent crime.
However, another possible, and possibly more likely valid interpretation may suggest there's no "disconnect" between satisfaction with government and personal life. It may suggest there was never a "connect" between the two in the first place. Whatever else is going on with the voters, it doesn't appear they're necessarily "voting their wallets," per old-time common wisdom. On the other hand, I distinctly remember the old Republican pitch: "Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?" The Republicans are >definitely< not above attempting to take credit for that faux correlation, even if people's satisfaction with their lives would have increased anyway, since satisfaction with government and private lives seems to be - in that interpretation - a canard at the outset. Public perception is the key, here. In my interpretations here I took those numbers at face-value.
But I have some serious questions. I'd like to see the sample demographic. What regions were sampled? How many samples were taken on what sized regions? What was the "instantaneous" time-frame of the survey? On what date(s) was the survey conducted? What events were current at interview time? Is it a continuing survey, or is it a compilation of records? How long was the interview cycle? Does the survey graph the changing views over time of individuals in the sample? What were the dates of the records? Over how many iterations was that survey conducted? Exactly >who< responded to that survey and how was/were the sample(s) selected? What percentage of the selected sample(s) actually >responded< to that survey in the first place? I don't see any error margin or confidence interval numbers on the chart. It doesn't even show the sample size. How representative are those numbers? At this juncture, the numbers >I'd< be >most< interested in would be the number >and< demographic - not to mention, location - of those who >declined< to participate in this survey.
Gallup is a well-established, relatively reputable organization. That doesn't mean they're above a critical eye.
I like this piece, Professor. It hits home. My take on this: See the Good.
Many of us are worried about climate change, the political divides and of course trying to cope with all of the changes & losses due to the pandemic.
Some of us adapted easily to being isolated -especially avid readers, folks who eat almost everything they prepare themselves and those who derive pleasure from the outdoors and music. My mother always told me I was “in good company when alone.” I have ALWAYS known that despite my troubles, there are so many people who are worse off and it is they who snap me out any doldrums.
I am agoraphobic. And social phobic. Hence, as you can imagine, I live a reclusive life - a fact that before Covid caused me a great deal of inconvenience and shame. For me, the pandemic has been like a vacation. I don't have to make excuses for not going out or having people over. I don't have to feel guilty about it either. As an added bonus, the efforts I used to have to go to in order to have the things I need from the outside world delivered to me have been streamlined by the fact that EVERYONE now needs everything delivered and that process has been perfected across the board. Of course, the downside is that I'm more fearful than ever, and when going out is unavoidable - as my need for dental care has become urgent, for example - I am more panicked than ever. The outside world has actually become as frightening as I imagined, and people are scarier and more unpredictable in their fear and anger. I even quit social media at the beginning of the pandemic because of the anger there. I am very grateful to have a "safe place", a kindle, and my cat.