Once Again, The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be
The idea that each generation of children will grow up to be better off than the one that preceded it has always been a part of the American dream.
The idea that each generation of children will grow up to be better off than the one that preceded it has always been a part of the American dream.
At a time when the nation’s waistline has expanded to record girth, about two-thirds of American adults are either dieting, exercising or doing both. But by their own reckoning, they don’t have much to show for their efforts.
Americans are eating more but enjoying it less. Just 39% of adults say they enjoy eating “a great deal,” down from the 48% who said the same in a Gallup survey in 1989.
Americans believe their fellow Americans have gotten fat. They consider this a serious national problem. But when they think about weight, they appear to use different scales for different people.
These edicts represent the collective judgment of the American public when asked to assess the moral dimensions of different kinds of behaviors.
That degree of familiarity with — and proximity to — interracial marriage is the latest milestone in what has been a sweeping change in behaviors and attitudes concerning interracial relationships over the past several decades.
A nationwide survey finds that just about every breed of human owner considers their pet to be family. But some groups are more disposed than others to feel this way.
Overall, about a quarter of all adults in this country say they always feel rushed, while a majority of Americans sometimes feel rushed and about a quarter almost never feel rushed.
More than four in ten American adults either see or talk to a parent every day, according to a survey that looks at the nature of family ties and the frequency of family contact.
Some of us are happier than others, and this variance helps to paint a portrait of the kind of people Americans are. It also casts doubt on some of the famous wisdom on the subject.
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