Can we say anything about American
attitudes about politics except to say that any left-right dichotomy
is wrong?
Yes, we can make some strong and interesting statements about Americans' views on politics and about government, of which politics is a necessary subset.
Americans are proud of our country, our life and are satisfied with our government. Most people take as their personal political motto a phrase embedded in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident ... all men are... endowed .. with inalienable rights... among these.. the pursuit of happiness.”
Most people only vote when they feel
the government is incompetent and needs a change, as in the case of
California and reform minded Governor Schwarzenegger. The rest of the
time they prefer to vote for the moderate candidate.
Citizens will come out to vote against a candidate if a candidate holds odious positions: ex. McGovern for president. They will also vote strongly for a candidate if the candidate represents a desired change in government direction: ex. Reagan for president. Generally Americans don't vote, or when questioned about their voting patterns they disavow any connection to “conservative” or “liberal.”
Before 1982 many Americans were
uncomfortable with cash-money-corruption in the political process at
all levels of government. The creation of transparent PACs,
political action committees, changed that perception. Now, nearly
all Americans consider our government not to be corrupt. The change
was abrupt, which goes to the next point.
Americans are solution oriented. When problems arise in our lives and the solution relates to government, Americans want practical solutions and we want the solutions to be sophisticated, tailored to the needs of the constituency and outside the government if possible.
Practical solutions: After being successfully eliminated in Wisconsin, welfare-without-work was ended nationally in 1996. Trial first, then extension for successful programs. Nearly every state and local government agency implements improvements which they learn from the successes of other comparable government agencies.
Tailored solutions: Driver's licenses
come with a wide variety of restrictions related to age, driving
experience and skill.
Non-government solutions where possible: School systems are moving to non-government managed schools to keep up with the student population that migrated out of public schools decades ago and continues to migrate.
Summary: The vast majority of Americans
are pursuing happiness in their lives content with the modern
commercial society and glad to be self reliant. Some pay attention
to government issues when elections roll around, but remain moderate
in their involvement and their electoral choices. A small part of
the population follows the politics of government more intently than
the rest, but are only influential in making changes when their
values coincide with those of the vast majority.
(Credit for this blog goes to my friend Alex and several survey research studies.)