In January 2022, the Pew Research Center reported that 78% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country at the moment. However, despite this staggeringly high number, the survey also revealed that 61% of American adults feel optimistic about the future of the country and the state it will be in by the end of the year.
At first glance, it seems that these statistics imply very different feelings about the current state and future of the United States. However, I find that these facts reveal something that is arguably and inherently American.
It’s no secret that the United States is more divided than it has ever been. Before the pandemic occurred, 77% of Americans believed that the country was deeply divided politically with that number rising to 88% after the pandemic began. Every major issue is partisan, and progress is stifled with hostility from party members on both sides. Yet, more than half of Americans have optimism about the United State’s future. Why? If only 21% of Americans are satisfied with how the country is functioning, how can hope still be maintained when most people feel like the country is moving backwards more than forwards?
Of the 61% of Americans who are experiencing this hopefulness and optimism, 46% of them are Republicans and 71% are Democrats, so it’s certainly not fair to say this is a partisan concern. Many people, on both sides, are retaining a spirit of optimism despite their own dislike towards those currently holding majority offices. In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden himself confessed to feeling “more optimistic about America today” than in his entire life, and he cites one key characteristic that has been ever present in the entirety of America’s history: possibility.
The United States is a country built on the belief that we, as Americans, can do better and create something inspiring and strong. While the American Dream as a concept is rather shaky today given ever present social and human rights issues, there are still ideals of the American Dream that people across party lines embrace, those of hope and individualism.
Psychologists and sociologists have studied this very phenomenon present in American history and Americans themselves, identifying that the western world’s inherent need for a country that foundationally values individuals and their experiences is the key to how Americans possess optimism. The culture of America itself gives people a spirit of optimism; after all, the country was founded by people who believed in the rightful and lawful pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. It is within these core values that an intrinsic optimism is found.
In 2015, Barack Obama said, “The challenges that this generation of Americans has faced, they’re less dire than those that the Greatest Generation endured. But we’ve got the same will. We got the same drive.” Given the pandemic stripping people of their normal lives and the general defeat that seems to come with opening any news sources these days, it seems that this very American ideal is persistently present, something that we cannot seem to shake off, no matter how hard the country gets us down.
Another reason for this persistent optimism is rooted in the generation that is changing the face of politics daily. During the 2020 election, Generation Z showed up, as 18 through 29 year olds accounted for 5 million of the 50 million votes cast–this is telling of exactly who Gen Z is. Gen Z is more engaged in politics than previous generations of young people, and a poll conducted by Harvard University shows that 56% of young Americans have hope about the future of the country.
The state of hope in this country is rising, especially by people of color. In 2017, 18% of young Black people were hopeful about the United State’s future and just four years later, that number has risen to 72%. Similarly, the hope of young Hispanics people has risen from 29% to 69%.
Though it is easy to simply see division in our country, looking more closely at the statistics underlining our nation, it seems that hope is not the only bipartisan measure right now. The same Harvard University study found that on the subject of friendliness and the ability to see past harsh political lines, 85% of Biden-voters and 73% of Trump-voters agree on one essential matter: “We need more open-mindedness in politics.”
While I came across this statistics unexpectedly, as a young college student who is politically engaged and interested, I felt something akin to relief. It can be exceedingly difficult to navigate political information today, and it can be frustrating trying to find even where to begin. However, despite the great division that hangs like a shadow over the United States these days, there is comfort in knowing that under it all, there is still optimism and there can still be good.
Personally, I air on the side of political optimism in my own life, even if the only thing sustaining that hope is my love of and escape into Aaron Sorkin’s political dramas, “The West Wing” and “The Newsroom.” However, as I read headlines and the news every day, there is one thing I believe every American can do to live with just a little bit more hope in their hearts: celebrate the little victories. Ketanji Brown Jackson has been elected as the first Black woman to serve as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, and this is no small thing. In moments like these, we, as Americans, can celebrate and know that whatever lies ahead, there is something worth praising in the now.