It could be a sign of the times – or something more lasting – but far more Americans today feel like their side is losing more often than winning in politics.
Americans are deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation’s elected leaders. Yet at the same time, they rate the government positively in many areas.
Americans are deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation's leaders.
Public trust in the government remains near historic lows. Only 19% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (3%) or “most of the time” (16%).
Many Americans want control over their personal information and freedom from observation during the activities of their daily lives, but they are not confident that the government agencies or businesses that collect data about them can keep that information private and secure.
Many hope that more transparency and data sharing will help journalists, make officials more accountable and improve decisions. But very few think agencies are doing a great job of providing useful data.
At the AAAS 2015 Annual Meeting, Lee Rainie discussed new findings from a representative survey of 3,748 scientists connected to the AAAS about their views about the state of science in America and, particularly, how scientists use a variety of methods to bring their work to the general public.
Scientists and their work have an important place in every major aspect of American life. Many hope that advances in science will improve people's lives and enhance the economy.
