How American’s View the U.S. Political System

The American government has been consistent with its ideals of keeping democracy safe and sound in other countries. It has supported liberation plans for countries that are under attack by groups that want to trample on freedom. It sends its troops to ensure this doesn’t happen. How about in the heart of home? Are American’s happy with the democracy they are currently enjoying?

A study that wanted to answer this very same question was conducted in 2018. It gave light to various thoughts concerning the current state of democracy. Some say they don’t see any threats to freedom, while others believe they’re not being heard enough.

The survey conducted by the Pew Research Center initiated varied responses from the public. Some of the noteworthy insights are cited below. The Pew Research Center is an independent nonprofit that conducts various studies through opinion polls and various research methods. It aims to generate data that would help in sound decision-making.

There is a need to make significant changes: Of those surveyed, 58 percent are confident of the democracy they are experiencing at present. This number represents a ratio of six people out of ten who believe democracy is intact.

Despite this confidence, however, a majority of those who answered the survey thinks there is a need to make significant changes to the current political system. Sixty-one percent said the changes will improve the system by adapting it to the present situation.

There is no need to give the president more power: Majority of the respondents believe the president has sufficient powers to address the problems the country is facing. Seventy-six percent of them do not approve of giving the president more powers in order to solve current issues, adding it could put the country at risk.

The person sitting at the presidency hugely influences the populations’ mood: Most of the respondents are one in thought that whoever is sitting as the country’s president generally dictates the populations’ behavior. Sixty-three percent said the sitting president directly affects their personal lives. Forty percent of this number are opinions from women, while twenty-nine percent are from men.

They also believe that the president’s views highly impacts issues of national security, and the U.S.’ status in the world.

Increasing clamor for elected officials to compromise: To put this simply, Americans are getting tired of the political division in the country, and would rather be united on various issues.

In the past, Democrats were highly likely to praise elected officials for compromising, but now, Republicans are catching up. The study found that the Democrats and Republicans are now almost on equal footing regarding this issue – 46% of the Democrats and 44% of the Republicans positively view compromises among politicians.

Local governance is better than national governance: Respondents are more appreciative of local politicians than those who serve in the national government. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed have a high regard for local politicians, compared to a dismal thirty-five percent who believes national officials are doing good.

Three fourths or 73% of the respondents also said the quality of recent local candidates are better than those before them. Only 41% said the same thing with regards to those who run for national positions.