A new Pew Research Center study found 53% of U.S. adults rated Americans’ morals and ethics as “bad,” making the U.S. the only country surveyed where that view prevailed.
Trust in other people underpins everything from civic life to everyday cooperation, so broad skepticism about neighbors’ character can shape politics, institutions and social cohesion.
Pew’s findings add an international benchmark to a long-running American debate about polarization and whether people see opponents—and even fellow citizens—as acting in good faith.
In the area I’m in, people think that lying is perfectly fine now. Even if you’re not a liar, people assume that you’re lying all the time, because they think it’s stupid to not lie. People think if you’re not lying, you’re a sucker.
It’s hard to get anything done because the mechanics and the plumbers and the city workers and the doctors and dentists and insurance companies and the people we work for and the religious leaders and on and on are all lying. If you’re a good liar with no conscience, life is a paradise–for the rest of us it’s hell.