Common Sense Isn’t So Common Anymore

Many times, we have heard politicians, journalists, and even clergy tell us, “On the really important things, Americans largely agree.”  As the recently retired Lee Corso of Gameday fame would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”  Any way you cut the cake, when you take a look at the “really important things,” it is abundantly clear this is simply not the case.

For many years, it was largely true that Americans looked at things great and small within a common culture, where conservatives and liberals prized the same things.  When it came to politics, there was generally a consensus on what the goals should be within a durable system and process that each side agreed was the proper way to go about deciding things in a democratic Republic.  The debates centered on what policies were best to accomplish these shared goals.  We might argue about what play should be run, but not about what a touchdown was.  Recent data does more than call this into question.

For forever and a day, it was accepted that a two-parent household was the best social program in the world.  For certain, through the years, we have expanded the definition of what constitutes a nuclear family.  That is a good thing.  Still, being a family with children has been seen as a good thing. 

The NBC Desk recently surveyed 18-29-year-old voters.  They asked these Gen Z voters to rank order 13 options as to “which is important to your personal definition of success.”  They were divided by two variables—Trump voters and Harris voters, segmented by men and women.  Choices included items such as getting married, having children, fulfillment in your work, having no debt, owning your own home, spiritual priorities, and retirement.  Take a look at these numbers.

How important is having children to them?  Among men who voted for Trump, it came in at numero uno, first.  Among female Trump voters, it was number six.  Men voting for Harris ranked it number 10.  That is higher than women who voted for Harris, who ranked it number 12.  In other words, only one thing was less important to them. 

When it comes to the importance of getting married, male Trump voters ranked it fourth, female Trump voters ranked it ninth.  For Harris voters, males had it at nine, while the females ranked in number 11.

Remember the outrage when J.D. Vance highlighted that Democrats had become dominated by “cat ladies.”  He said, “We are effectively run in this country—via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarch—by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives, and the choices they have made, so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” 

Looking at these numbers is discouraging to this aging Trump-voting male.  What is most discouraging is that the numbers are coming from our next generation.  The difference between the Trump voters and the Harris voters shows they are looking at the world from very different starting points.

When it comes to the economic structure that has guided the United States from its inception, there is no longer a consensus that this is a good thing.  Capitalism, for all its faults, put the emphasis on the individual to account for their economic well-being.  Apparently, Democrats have a very different opinion.

Since 2010, Gallup has measured views towards capitalism and socialism.  Among all voters, those viewing capitalism favorably are 54 percent, the lowest recorded since 2010.  One does not need to be a PhD in math to figure out how these numbers came about.  51 percent of independents were favorable.  Democrats?  42 percent, the first time it has been below 50 percent.

How do these Democrats feel about socialism?  66 percent, as in two-thirds, have a favorable opinion.  Reading that number took my breath away.  Many years ago, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher succinctly captured the problem with socialism.  “Sooner or later, they will run out of other people’s money to spend.”  

We have reached a point of inflection.  Either we will go in the direction where getting married and having children are important, while taking the primary responsibility for our own lives, or go in the direction where these things are turned upside down.

Common Sense:  It is clear that, in many ways, we are already two countries.  We are not talking about the budget for public housing.  We are talking about the overall worldview.  Speaking only for myself, I intend to go to my grave sticking with the values we have held for 250 years.