A 52 percent majority of voting-age Americans worry about the future of democracy in the United States amid growing disappointment with the Biden administration's performance, a poll from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics (IOP) said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2021) A 52 percent majority of voting-age Americans worry about the future of democracy in the United States amid growing disappointment with the Biden administration's performance, a poll from the Harvard Kennedy school of Government's Institute of politics (IOP) said on Wednesday.
"A majority of young Americans believe that our democracy is 'in trouble' or 'failing.' While most young Biden voters are satisfied with their vote, President (Joe) Biden's job approval (46%) has dropped 13 percentage points among young Americans since the IOP's Spring 2021 Poll, including a 10-point drop among young Democrats and 14-point drop among Independents" a press release explaining the poll said.
The poll conducted between October 26 and November 8 covers young Americans' concerns on their mental health, COVID-19, climate change and political discord.
"After turning out in record numbers in 2020, young Americans are sounding the alarm. When they look at the America they will soon inherit, they see a democracy and climate in peril -- and Washington as more interested in confrontation than compromise," IOP Polling Director John Volpe said in the release.
Only 7 percent of young Americans view the United States as a "healthy democracy"; 27% described the nation as a "somewhat functioning democracy," 39% a "democracy in trouble," and 13% went so far as to declare the nation a "failed democracy." Overall, 52 percent of those surveyed labeled democracy as either failing or in trouble, the release said.
Partisan rancor has grown to such an extent that over a third of young Americans (35 percent) believe they will see a second civil war in their lifetime with chances that at least one state secedes at 25 percent, the release said.
Just over half (51 percent) say that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on their life, the release added.
In addition, 51 percent report having felt down, depressed, and hopeless -- and 25 percent have had thoughts of self-harm -- at least several times in the last two weeks, according to the release.
A solid majority (55%) of young Americans believe the US government is not doing enough to address climate change, including 68% of college graduates, 56% of college students, and 50% of those without a college degree.
Finally, the poll found that a belief in US exceptionalism is a highly divisive issue among young Americans, with less than one third believing that America is the greatest country in the world.
