Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2016)
12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016 Divided: Surveys ind broad agreement on a range of topics Continued from Page 1A All the splintering bared in the rhetoric of a presiden- tial campaign belies another truth: Americans are remark- ably united, too. You see it in the banality of routine, in morning drives to work and evenings before the glow of a TV. You see it along parade routes, in blood donation lines after tragedies, and in the quiet prayers of the faithful. You see it in the lag. Bouldin works on the opposite end of a sprawling sewing room loor from Ed Haney and political pollsters would see them in different worlds altogether. Haney is white and male, tends to side with Republicans and expects to vote for Donald Trump. Bouldin is black and female, always votes Democratic and will cast her ballot for Hil- lary Clinton. Yet they both speak of their Christian faith, the importance of family, their love of America. “The United States is the freest and the best coun- try on this earth and that lag represents that,” said Haney, a 69-year-old maintenance mechanic at Annin. “The country was founded by men of different opinions who united on one thing: The free- dom to have those opinions.” Broad agreement For all the divisions well- known across the U.S., sur- veys ind broad agreement on a range of topics. On foreign affairs, Ameri- cans hold resoundingly favor- able views of Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany and Japan, and unfavorable ones of North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Overwhelm- ingly, they see the Islamic State group as a major threat. Domestically, there’s near unanimity that veterans should be better cared for, and that more research into renewable energy should be supported. Medicare and Social Security are wildly popular, and most have a positive view of entre- preneurship and small busi- To unite or divide America in one word? ‘Free,’ ‘great,’ or ‘divided,’ ‘broken’ Poll takers were asked which candidate, if elected, would make the country more united or more divided: Much/somewhat more united Clinton By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer 34% Trump 17% Neither more united nor divided 21 9 Much/somewhat more divided 43 73 Don’t know/refused to answer 1 2 NOTE: Poll of 1,008 adults; margin of error ±4.1 percentage points; conducted June 23-26. SOURCE: The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research AP ness. Nearly all Americans believe in helping the less fortunate. The gun debate may polar- ize Capitol Hill and state- houses, but there is wide con- sensus among Americans on mandating background checks for gun shows and pri- vate sales (85 percent agree, according to a Pew Research Center poll), and on keeping weapons from the mentally ill (79 percent agree). Abortion remains acrimo- nious, but relatively few peo- ple call for totally legaliz- ing or outlawing it in every case, with the majority of peo- ple somewhere in the middle. (Only 24 percent of Americans believe in blanket legalization, according to Pew, and 16 per- cent are for an outright ban.) And though immigration remains a lashpoint, most Americans believe undocu- mented immigrants should be able to remain in the country if they meet certain conditions. (Another Pew poll found 74 percent of Americans held that view.) “The average Democrat and the average Republican are not that far apart from each AP Photo/Gerry Broome Employees Lottie Penick, left, and Melissa Hodnett iron stars onto a United States flag at Annin Flagmakers in South Boston, Va. Ask the workers at the factory to name life’s most important things and family, work and faith are repeated. Presented the chance to live in a foreign land, the idea is uniformly rejected, with each saying America can’t be beat. And nudged to sum up what this country’s people share, they invoke their handiwork and what it stands for — freedom, opportunity and pride. other,” said Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas. Hard work Unity also emerges in comparing the U.S. with other countries. Americans are more likely than those elsewhere to believe hard work is very important to get ahead in life and that individuals have con- trol over their success. They stand out among rich coun- tries for their optimism and their widespread belief in God, the importance of religion in their lives and the regularity in which they practice their faith. Some 89 percent of Americans express some level of belief in God, according to Pew. Americans may not agree on whether to support Clin- ton or Trump, but they unite in their lack of conidence in Congress and the political sys- tem overall. They hold rabid allegiances to varying sports teams, but will chant “USA” together as Olympians com- pete. They love shopping; red meat, ice cream and cheese; and dogs over cats. That unity is embodied in the lag. American children start their school days, hand to heart, in a pledge, and it becomes as much a ixture in their lives as in their history books. The lag has been draped over ath- letes, launched into space and planted at the North Pole. After 9/11, it lew from porches from sea to sea. Annin opened in 1847 and has seen spikes of patriotic fer- vor throughout its history. At the company’s cavernous fac- tory near the Virginia-North Carolina line, the air is thick with the smell of dye and glue and the din of jackhammering needles. The company added a third shift to accommodate demand but isn’t entirely sure what’s driving orders. Buddy Wilborn isn’t sure either. He’s 59 and on a break from repairing sewing machines. When there are try- ing times — whether terrorism or natural disaster or a hard- ball political season that drives wedges between people — he sees the lag’s resonance grow. He’s not so sure who he’ll vote for come November, but he sees hope. “I think our country is start- ing to come back together,” he said. NEW YORK — Free and great, or divided and confused. Diverse and powerful, or trou- bled and broken. In search of a single word encapsulating their country at this moment, Amer- icans offered pollsters a lexi- con relecting both hope and dissonance. The most-uttered word from about 1,000 responses to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research sur- vey was “freedom,” with “free” not far behind at No. 4. “Great” took second place — and “good,” “powerful,” “wonder- ful” and “awesome” also occu- pied the top tier. But crowding the list were entries mirroring national angst. “Divided” ranked third, and “confused” and “troubled” tied for ifth, amassed alongside other words of distress: “bro- ken,” “lost,” and more bluntly, “screwed.” Pollsters say grouping peo- ple’s answers together with syn- onyms and related words is a better relection of public senti- ment. Viewed that way, “strug- gling,” “declining” and their synonyms accounted for the biggest chunk of words, from about one-ifth of answers. Some 18 percent of respon- dents offered words related to American greatness, prosper- ity and power, which collec- tively ranked second, followed by those linked to freedom (15 percent), and “confused,” “lost” and similar choices (10 percent). Positive and negative words were almost evenly split. “When you see words like ‘freedom’ and ‘divided’ together, you get a good little portrait of what people are thinking,” said Peter Sokolowski, editor-at- large at Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher. “You can’t get more balanced than that.” Republicans used “strug- gling,” “declining” and simi- lar terms more than Democrats (27 percent versus 15 percent). Those without college degrees were also likelier to do so. Bobby Underwood, a 67-year-old retired carpet mill worker in Dalton, Georgia, chose “troubled” when chal- lenged to describe his country. With killings of police oficers, Islamic State group attacks, a divisive election and concerns about the economy and illegal immigration, Underwood said he was left with an unhappy word in his mind. “Troubled,” he said. “That pretty much sums it up for me.” More than 350 individ- ual words lowed into the poll released this week — from “bossy,” “boring,” “bounti- ful” and “bigoted” to “eclec- tic,” “enthusiastic” and “equal.” Also: “paradise,” “perplex- ing,” and a few cases of profan- ity. They pointed to high ideals — “democracy,” “opportunity,” “liberty” — and dire assess- ments — “greedy,” “racist,” and “doomed.” Some screamed in all capital letters: “UNITED” and “TERRIFIED.” Others used punctuation for added effect — “disaster!!” and “great!” Jack Blanton of Lexington, Kentucky, thought of his 81 years in weighing his answer. He grew up in a rural town in the Appalachian foothills, work- ing on his grandparents’ tobacco farm and later in a steel mill. He moved around the country and saw the world, earned a Ph.D., and rose to become a university vice president. He wondered what other country could give a farm boy such a life, and concluded America’s best days are ahead. He decided on “great.” “Who wouldn’t be optimis- tic?” he asked. “My whole life has been blessed.” Online: AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/ HEALTH NOTIFICATION Are You Hard of Hearing? A major name brand hearing aid provider wishes to ield test a remarkable new digital hearing instrument in the area. his ofer is free of charge and you are under no obligation. hese revolutionary 100% Digital instruments use the latest tech- nology to comfortably and almost invisibly help you hear more clearly. his technology solves the “stopped up ears” and “head in a barrel” sensation some people experience. If you wish to participate, you will be required to have your hearing tested in our oice FREE OF CHARGE to determine candidacy and review your results with the hearing instruments with our hearing care specialist. At the end of this evaluation, you may keep your instrument, if you so desire, at a tremendous saving for participating in this ield test. Special testing will be done to determine the increased beneits of this technology. Beneits of hearing aids vary by type and degree of hearing loss, noise environment, accuracy of hearing test, and proper it. his is a wonderful opportunity to determine if hearing help is available for your hearing loss and get hearing help at a very afordable price. CALL NOW IF YOU WISH TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS FIELD TEST THIS WEEK ONLY NOW through Sunday, August 14, 2016 Call today to make your reservation for a Hearing Aid Field Test Miracle-Ear Center Youngs Bay Plaza 173 S. Hwy 101 Warrenton, OR 97146 (503) 836-7921 www.miracle-ear-warrenton.com Miracle- Ear Center 2505 Main Ave N, Suite C Tillamook, OR 97141 (503) 836-7926 www.miracle-ear-tillamook.com Since 1990 the Miracle-Ear Foundation(™) has been providing hearing aids, follow-up care, and educational resources to people with hearing loss who demonstrate personal inability to financially provide for their hearing health needs. We do this because we believe everyone in our community deserves quality hearing instruments. Special Notice State Employees You may qualify for a hearing aid benefit up to $4,000 every 4 years. Call for eligibility status.