Did American values “change drastically” during pandemic? Interpreting the WSJNBC Poll
“in three and a half years, the latest poll indicates, America seemed to change more drastically than it did in the prior 21 years. Of course, what happened in 2020, 2021, and 2022 was immense. Government-mandated shutdowns of schools and private businesses and forced mask-wearing….” - CPost
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If you look for it, it’s pretty clear that the writer approaches the whole question with a “change is bad” bias.
Not everything in that poll is “not in a good way,” though it can be interpreted that way if that’s your bias. For example, attaching less importance to work can easily be interpreted as a good thing, especially if you look at some of the data on what people value more during and after Covid.
It’s also important to note that the poll doesn’t establish a causal link between Covid and the changes in American values, but less a causal link between values changes and specific Covid-response policies.
The author might be right, but pointing out how a poll fits an already-chosen narrative in some ways doesn’t prove the narrative is true.
Further, the article ignores lots of other things that have been going on the last few years. The hyperpoliticization of everything comes to mind. The conduct of politicians from the top on down has also been enough to make almost anyone feel less “patriotic.” etc., etc. But inside a particular tribe, the thing to do is reflexively blame it all on the evils of masks, closed businesses and schools, and restrictions on gatherings that also applied to churches. At least she left vaccines out of the litany. Kudos for that.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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