According to a recent report from Pew Research, both Democrats and Republicans agree that politicians should be ethical and honest. In this day of sharp political divide, it’s refreshing to know that there are at least some places where the two parties can find common ground. In the survey, which was conducted last summer, 91 percent of Americans, across both parties, said it was essential that someone in high political office be honest and ethical. Ethics in politics- who could argue with that?
The statistics are interesting. Keep in mind that the respondents were not politicians, just normal Americans with varying levels of political engagement. And while there is a lot of agreement over how important it is for politicians to be honest and ethical, how both parties view the current administration couldn’t be more different. Turns out common ground isn’t so common.
Who Trusts the Current Administration?
Pew Research conducted a separate survey in which they asked whether the respondent trusted what Donald Trump says more or less than other presidents. 58 percent of Republicans trust Trump more than other presidents, while only 2 percent of Democrats say that. On the other hand, 94 percent of Democrats trust Trump less than previous presidents and only 15 percent of Republicans trust him less.
In the same survey, participants were asked about the ethical standards of the current administration. Nine-in-ten Democrats believe that the ethical standards of the administration are not good or poor, while 76 percent of Republicans call Trump’s ethical standards good.
What’s with the divide? Although Trump might be the most polarizing president in history, the statistics for past presidents actually aren’t much different. Unsurprisingly, people tend to trust a president from their own party, while distrusting a president from the opposing party. This obvious towing of the political line seems to confirm that people will bend what they believe is ethical or unethical behavior to fit their own preconceived political beliefs. So much for common ground.
You may not be surprised by any of this, but the surveys give credence to what you probably already know: America is divided, and there’s no end in sight.
Understanding each party’s values can help decipher all of this. As mentioned in the survey above, both Democrats and Republicans want their leaders to be honest and ethical. But they have stark differences in the other qualities they value. Democrats by-and-large prefer leaders who can maintain a tone of civility and who are compassionate and empathetic, whereas Republicans want a leader who will stand up for their beliefs and work well under pressure. Less-than-half of members of both parties valued persuasiveness in their leaders. This helps explain why politicians are not likely to listen to the other side- they don’t care about changing the opposition’s mind, only amplifying their own voice.
How Do Politicians Compare?
Last year, Forbes reported that nurses, military officers, and grade school teachers were among America’s most trusted professions. 82 percent of U.S. adults say that they trust nurses. Who are the least trusted? Lobbyists (8 percent), business executives (16 percent), and lawyers (18 percent) round out the bottom of the list. Local officeholders didn’t fare well, with only a 24 percent rating.
With three in four Americans disapproving of Congress, the harsh truth is that they urgently need to restore the public’s trust. Yet, politicians seem aggressively disinterested in pursuing bipartisan policies with high levels of public support, like infrastructure development or criminal justice reform. Pursuing controversial wedge issues seem to be the new norm- so it’s no wonder the public doesn’t trust lawmakers.
It’s obvious that trust in politicians is at an all-time low, even though an overwhelming amount of Americans believe that politicians should conduct themselves ethically and honestly. But given the data above, it seems the public is willing to shift the goal post on their definition of ‘ethical’ depending on who they’re talking about. If this divide is going to end, we must all work together to hold all politicians to the same standards, regardless of if someone is on ‘our’ side or not.
If that remains the case, politicians will happily continue to exploit the divide between red and blue- and grow it.
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