ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701270115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Middle-class Americans are disgusted with politics, government and what is seen as a general decline in society but believe the system can be fixed before it falls apart, researchers said Saturday.
Interviews with 2,047 adults last year by the Gallup Organization Inc. indicated pervasive pessimism in the nation, said James Davison Hunter, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. Among the findings:
* Only 32 percent of respondents have ``a great deal'' or ``quite a lot'' of confidence in the federal government.
* 78 percent agree that ``our leaders are more concerned with managing their images than with solving our nation's problems.''
And, Hunter said: ``The pessimism, the disaffection is not held mostly by the poor and minorities, but by the white middle class.''
Nevertheless, ``There is a great deal of idealism that remains in the public imagination. In a word, Americans love America,'' Hunter said. ``This is not a population straining toward revolution.''
People have strong idealistic beliefs about government's role in society but don't like the way it does business, he and his colleagues in the research said. They believe in the concept of welfare for the needy, for instance, but they don't like the present welfare system.
The researchers reported their findings to members of the new National Commission on Civic Renewal, led by former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and former Education Secretary William Bennett. It is the largest of more than a half-dozen groups that have begun recently to study civic participation and social trust in America. They are addressing perceived moral decline in society and growing disaffection between Main Street and Capitol Hill.
Those interviewed in the Gallup survey believe the country is being run by special interests, Hunter said. They think they are excluded from public discussion and believe political events are like theater or entertainment. They blame familiar targets, he said: The government. Breakdown of the family. Politicians. The media.
``Did you ask them then why they watch TV 25 hours a week, get divorced and don't take responsibility for their children?'' asked Bennett, a founder of the Empower America advocacy group, who believes strongly in personal responsibility.
``They do not implicate themselves,'' Hunter said.
They blame fractured families, he said, but talk about using beepers to keep in touch with their children. They don't see the contradiction, he said.
Alan Wolfe of Boston University reported information he's collected from in-depth interviews with 200 middle-class families in Boston, Atlanta, San Diego and Tulsa, Okla.
``I find a tremendous sense of optimism,'' Wolfe said. ``What bothers them is that things are out of balance.''
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB