Friday, February 17, 2017

Defining the Darkness.15

After reporting results of a survey that showed that 25% of Americans surveyed said that Homegrown Hitler should be able to overturn the decisions of judges, but  fully 51% of his supporters agreed...

The Guardian:

"As the PPP’s survey reveals, Trump is appealing to a remarkably receptive audience in his attempts to rule by decree – and many are no longer attached to the rule of law and/or democracy. Other studies confirm these findings."

Another study showed a different division among Americans, between pre-Boomers and Millennials:

"When asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how “essential” it is for them “to live in a democracy,” 72% of Americans born before World War II check “10,” the highest value. But, the millennial generation (those born since 1980) “has grown much more indifferent.” Less than 1 in 3 hold a similar belief about the importance of democracy."

The decline is a steady downward curve, with those born in the 1940s above 60%, born in the 50s about 57% and born in the 60s at 50%.  Generation X is just above 40%.

I'm generally skeptical of social science surveys, and this one is dubious (why is only a 10 on the 1-10 scale considered supporting democracy? Why not a 9?) And the usual problem with s.s. surveys--who are these people?  But the PPP survey is more specific, more troubling and more immediately consequential.

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