Althouse: Even independents think our moral values are "poor."

June 9, 2023

Even independents think our moral values are "poor."

From "Views of State of Moral Values in U.S. at New Low" (Gallup).

41 comments:

n.n said...: Ethical reform in lieu of moral development, will, ideally, have a short half-life.; 6/9/23, 12:02 PM
tim maguire said...: That's a confusing chart. It seems that higher numbers mean worse morals, but it's not intuitive to read it that way. Why the "even" in front of independents? Is there some reason to think dismay at the state of our morality should be a partisan issue?; 6/9/23, 12:05 PM
PM said...: Republicans - It's shameful
Democrats - Rockin'!
It's what became of 'If it feels good, do it'
And everyone better shut the hell up and fawn over it.; 6/9/23, 12:45 PM
Gusty Winds said...: It's the 62% of Democrats that think our moral values are just fine that is the most interesting.

Probably College Educated Suburban White Women.; 6/9/23, 1:00 PM
victoria said...: Byproduct of living in Trump's America

Vicki from Pasadena; 6/9/23, 1:36 PM
RideSpaceMountain said...: I wonder what that graph would look like if everyone got to see Mz. Hale's manifesto?; 6/9/23, 1:48 PM
Michael K said...: The Democrats got this going with the tranny nonsense. Then drag queens. Then boys in girls' teams and bathrooms.; 6/9/23, 1:48 PM
Mason G said...: Even independents think our moral values are "poor."

"Our"? I'm good with my moral values and from what I can tell, my friends and family are satisfied with theirs. Maybe you're hanging out with the wrong people?; 6/9/23, 2:30 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Hillary, (blogging as someone from Pasadena), blames TRUMP!; 6/9/23, 3:15 PM
Aggie said...: "Byproduct of living in Trump's America"

Ummm. Vicky, doll, Trump was President from 2016 to 2020. Read the graph; 6/9/23, 3:20 PM
Narr said...: "Even"? "Our?"

IMO the best reason to be an independent is because you understand that the moral and ethical values of political parties and partisans are sometime things, and over time will become entirely illusory.

We live in such a time.; 6/9/23, 3:29 PM
n.n said...: Why the "even" in front of independents?

As the presumptive apolitical parties, they are ostensibly the arbiters of truth, honor, and decency. How dare they have the audacity to select a moral frame over the floating ethical frame that enjoys a democratic consensus.; 6/9/23, 3:34 PM
n.n said...: Abortion In a New Light

She's right about abortion...

The Pro-Abortion ‘Life Of The Mother’ Argument Is A False Flag Operation

She's wrong about the characterization of proponents and opponents, and the choices available.

The "Respect for Marriage Act" was their latest progression in political congruence ("="). Two men and a womb only served to further deprecate women. The adoption of Critical Diversity Theory (e.g. DEI) to assert that people... persons are interchangeable, exchangeable, and disposable confirmed their ethical character. The normalization of gender (i.e. sex-correlated attribute) therapy, without scientifically valid forecasts, through surgical mutilation, medical dysfunction, and psychiatric corruption has precedents.; 6/9/23, 4:00 PM
Rocco said...: victoria said...
"Byproduct of living in Trump's America"

Nah. More likely a byproduct of Vicki's Pasadena.; 6/9/23, 4:06 PM
Rocco said...: Mason G said...
"Even independents think our moral values are 'poor.'

'Our'? I'm good with my moral values and from what I can tell, my friends and family are satisfied with theirs. Maybe you're hanging out with the wrong people?"

Ok, Pauline Kael.; 6/9/23, 4:09 PM
RideSpaceMountain said...: As Voltaire, Kant, and others have often noted, one of the defining features of elite classism and elite values is their copyability by the society at large. Those in the classes at all levels beneath those at the very top copy the values of the very top, not vice versa...it's one of the ways you can verify that you've "made it".

This axiom is obviously still in force, at least for most of the American population. So what should this tell us? It should tell us that elite morals are garbage. Absolute trash. Their values are subjective, selfish, crass, and arbitrary. Everyday more and more people wake up to the realization that they're being sold a false bill of goods and a portfolio of values that A) will not give them the access to social elevation they think it will and B) will actually be harmful in the long run to them and their families.

"Morals" in America are declining partly because morals never existed for the people most of the proles keep copying in hopes they get "upped". The people at the top have no clothes and don't deserve their power or their wealth. This will continue apace.; 6/9/23, 4:19 PM
Drago said...: Vicki from Pasadena: "Byproduct of living in Trump's America"

Recall vicki from pasadena, along with gadfly and Inga, argued passionately that Joe Biden showering with his adolescent daughter was "perfectly normal".

To Inga's sort of "credit", she has recently taken back the "perfectly normal" claim and has expressed her disapproval of such actions by dementia joe.

Interestingly, vickie from pasadena has done no such thing. So much for "morals" in the democraticals New Soviet America.; 6/9/23, 4:29 PM
Original Mike said...: "Byproduct of living in Trump's America"

What country are you living in? In my country, the sitting President took a $10M bribe and his name's not Trump.

Poor moral values, indeed.; 6/9/23, 4:34 PM
JIM said...: This chart is some proof there are 2 Americas, and a large segment of people who cannot commit to one or the other, or anything perhaps.; 6/9/23, 4:39 PM
Political Junkie said...: DJT does a lot of stuff I consider immoral. MSM and D's say "immoral".
Cultural left and Democrats do a lot of stuff that is of low moral standing. I will not even say the various items. Now D's and MSM call these acts "normal", or I am the bad guy if I find their particular behaviors revolting or in poor taste.
I say again, I exist in this world, but am not of this world.
I have to have distance or else I would go insane or worse.
I understand the beserkers.
There is such untruth in our world.

Cheers!; 6/9/23, 4:44 PM
Mikey NTH said...: These sorts of polls are an evergreen, the USA is always on the cusp of disaster (cusp? Edge? Rim?) and the youth lack the vigor and resiliance of prior ages.

Makes for easy articles on the summer months.; 6/9/23, 4:46 PM
hpudding said...: Haha - highest among the same Republicans who’ve been pushing authoritarian despotism on America. What a coincidence.; 6/9/23, 4:57 PM
hpudding said...: The Democrats got this going with the tranny nonsense. Then drag queens. Then boys in girls' teams and bathrooms.

LOL! Yes, Democrats invented transsexualism and cross-dressing. Let’s get J Edgar Hoover on the case! Hilarious.

Keep up that fight for the moral ethics of bathroom-use purity! Everyone knows nations’ fortunes rise and fall based on the honor of the peepee and punani. What were those founders thinking, looking to Ancient Rome and Greece for nation-building ideas! For shame. They should have looked instead to Mad King George for inspiration and upright leadership, as the conservatives did!; 6/9/23, 5:05 PM
Mason G said...: "Gallup occasionally asks them to name the most important problem with the state of moral values in the U.S., including in last year’s survey. The top response was the way people treat each other, or consideration of others."

The way people treat each other? Like when a sizeable portion of the population appears to believe that people should be fired from their jobs and shunned because they refuse to be a lab rat for an experimental medicine, maybe? Or being labeled a racist for believing that a person's character is more important than his skin color?; 6/9/23, 5:06 PM
The Godfather said...: I think the technical term for this chart is "meaningless" -- or you might say "bullshit". Whose moral values are you talking about?; 6/9/23, 5:11 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: Let me see a 2x impeached former president, head CEO of a criminal organization deemed by courts as a sexual abuser in a civil case by a jury of his peer under criminal indictment for payoffs to a porn star and in investigation for jury tampering voting obstruction and most likely RICO charges in Georgia and obsessive lack of veracity proven over and over(MEXICO pays for the wall I built the wall ,My ceremony was bigger than his ,best economy in history, the plague will go away on and on) Why would we think moral depletion? cmon man..; 6/9/23, 5:15 PM
Eric Rathmann said...: Not sure what Victoria is reading. It appears that generally under Trump less people thought we had a moral decline. That is, things were improving. Even with Democrats, 76% thought we were going in the wrong direction in May 2017 but by May 2020 that was down to 68%. And all groups agree that things are getting worse each year of the Biden regime. In May 2021, 67% thought the state of moral values was getting worse and by 2 years later 83% felt that way. For Democrats, that percent when from 49% to 73%.; 6/9/23, 5:17 PM
Original Mike said...: Ahhh…. puddin learned a new word. That's so cute.; 6/9/23, 6:12 PM
Static Ping said...: Not terribly surprising when the culture is aggressively hostile to the history of our nation and the morality of the dominant religion in favor of activists who want no limits to anything other than those they place upon those nasty conservatives and Christians and Jews. Welcome to woke world, communism as a religion, with a hell but no heaven, with tribalism not only pursued but required.

When your entire world view sucks, why would anyone want to play by the rules anymore?; 6/9/23, 6:17 PM
hombre said...: It's heartening to see the 38% of Democrats who may oppose child molesting and kiddie porn stepping up.; 6/9/23, 7:41 PM
gspencer said...: The madness is intentional.; 6/9/23, 7:44 PM
hombre said...: It's heartening to see the 38% of Democrats who may oppose child molesting and kiddie porn stepping up.; 6/9/23, 7:46 PM
Blastfax Kudos said...: I can't remember who said it, maybe it was G.K. Chesterton, but they're going to miss it when it's gone. Just look at the townhalls in Chicago and Oakland about crime and immigration recently. Someday the party will be over and all the hedonism won't shield them from the reality that there lives got demonstrably worse while they were busy chasing each other's tails. Evil conservatives won't be trying to "kill them" as they always lie, there just won't be anyone willing to save them. They certainly won't be able to save themselves.

There's an old Chinese saying that goes, "if I have money I drink all night. No matter if I'm broke tomorrow, I'll drink water." Complete ignorance and total disregard for future consequences.; 6/9/23, 7:52 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: So many leftists behave as if Trump is still president. Such an odd phenomenon.

Biden doesn't exist. Biden is so old, empty husk, and obviously corrupt - the left have to block him out.; 6/9/23, 9:11 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: Morality bullshit. Needs a tag.; 6/9/23, 10:08 PM
Rusty said...: I'm afraid some people equate political activism with morality. They are wrong,; 6/10/23, 7:10 AM
Christopher B said...: I'll second the notion that the results are kinda bizarre. Democrats like Vicky are constantly lecturing on the moral failings of US society and our need to 'do better' and be 'fundamentally transformed' but when it comes right down to it, it looks like that just means 'elect Democrat Presidents.' Despite the spike recently, the percentage of Republicans who answered poor kept going up, even in the Trump years.; 6/10/23, 8:08 AM
hpudding said...: I'm afraid some people equate political activism with morality. They are wrong.

That’s also how the Romans felt about Jesus. Or how George III felt about the revolutionary founders. Or how segregationists felt about civil rights activists and Confederates felt about abolitionists. Or how corporations felt about unions.

OTOH some people oppose the political hacktivism of Ron DeSantis’ book bans. Or his classroom speech codes. Or the judicial hacktivist conservatives on the Supreme Court overturning the voting rights act and countless other American rights. But I’m guessing you might actually like that kind of activism?; 6/10/23, 8:58 AM
Robert Cook said...: "'Byproduct of living in Trump's America'

"Ummm. Vicky, doll, Trump was President from 2016 to 2020. Read the graph"

Perhaps Vicky is referring to the passionate adoration by so many Americans for a man (Trump) who is utterly, openly, and defiantly amoral. Trump's unashamed lack of principles, honesty, or integrity has granted his adorers (and aspiring successors) the freedom to reveal (and revel in) self-seeking amorality in themselves and those they admire.; 6/10/23, 10:20 AM
Robert Cook said...: "So many leftists behave as if Trump is still president. Such an odd phenomenon."

Talk about an odd phenomenon: Many of Trump's benighted idolators actually think Trump is still (secretly) the President, which illustrates the baffling capacity of the human mind to hold multiple contradictory and even self-refuting beliefs simultaneously. They think Trump is still president, but they also blame Biden ("as President") for all they see as wrong with the USA at this time, while remaining heedless that if Trump is really, secretly the President right now, he cannot then run in 2024 for a "third" term.; 6/10/23, 10:31 AM
Rocco said...: Rusty said...
"I'm afraid some people equate political activism with morality. They are wrong"

There *is* a relationship. Usually an inverse one, though.; 6/10/23, 10:33 AM