Criminal Law Library Blog
There are many ways to define mood, or national mood, but for this posting I have selected the following: the perceived emotional tone and general attitudes of the American people in 2022.
During my research, I found many references which discussed this topic but have pared down the list to the six items listed below. Some of the materials are primarily news articles and essays, some consist primarily of data derived from surveys, and others are a combination of the two. Looking at the materials through another lens, some of the articles emphasize politics, some economics, and others American society more generally. Finally, some of the articles examine the mood of American society primarily from within, while at least one article examines American moods and attitudes from an international perspective as viewed by others from throughout the world.
I will close by quoting from a 2018 New York Times Magazine article by Steven Hyden (IS THE NATIONAL MOOD THE ONE IN POLLS OR THE ONE ONLINE?, The New York Times Magazine, July 2, 2018).
“Nobody looks in the mirror and sees an archetype. The world may define you as a millennial or a Trump voter or a “Star Wars” bro, but inside your own head, you are you — an individual with thoughts, emotions and experiences as particular as your fingerprints. The only problem is that you are not, from many perspectives, quite unique in the way you think you are: Much of the time, your feelings are shared by so many millions of people that you are merely another face in the crowd. Your anger or indignation or gleeful schadenfreude is only one drop in a great countrywide wave of it. Like it or not, you are part of a national mood”.
REFERENCES:
A number of articles and surveys related to this topic have been published and I am listing links to a few of them below for your convenience:
Schoen Cooperman Research U.S. Perceptions of Government Study December 2021 – (Research, U.S. Perception Study, December 2021).
America’s National Mood Disorder – (Analysis by Tyler Cowen,Bloomberg October 25,2021).
Americans broadly negative about the state of the nation, but most see a better year ahead | Pew Research Center – (Hannah Hartig, January 25, 2022).
MOOD OF THE NATION: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE “EXTREMELY WORRIED” ABOUT THE COUNTRY IN 2022 – APM Research Lab ( January 12, 2022).
The invasion of Ukraine unites a divided America – (William A. Galston, FIX.Gov, Brookings, March 3, 2022).
Do Americans really expect 2022 to be a better year? | Ipsos- (Nicholas Boyon, December 17, 2021).
What People Around the World Like – and Dislike – About American Society and Politics | Pew Research Center – (By Richard Wike, et. al. Report. November 1, 2021).