THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300356
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
As the country approaches the 1996 elections, many Americans are deeply troubled over the course of the nation, particularly its economic health and the state of families, according to a new study.
The report - based on focus group interviews in September with nearly 200 people in 15 cities and towns in the major primary states of New Hampshire, Iowa, Florida and California - found that people are not convinced that politicians and the media share or understand their fears.
Worse, the report found Americans wondering if the country has the will to face its problems squarely.
The report says that in 1992, ``Americans forcefully lashed out at the `political system' with raw, unmitigated anger. Now people seem to be . . . questioning what is happening around them, fearful of what the future holds, ambivalent about what should be done.''
The report was prepared by Richard C. Harwood, president of the Harwood Group, a research firm in Bethesda, Md., that concentrates on exploring public opinion.
The firm was hired by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism. The Harwood Group has done paid consulting work for The Virginian-Pilot in the past.
Much has been written nationally about the public's unrest, its disgust with the two dominant parties and its willingness to look at alternatives like Ross Perot.
But this report goes into far more detail about why the public is disgruntled.
Harwood says his research indicates people don't just want wholesale, undirected change.
Rather, Harwood's report said, two major areas of concern emerged from the conversations: economic security and threats to the family and the next generation.
``They describe an economy that has turned into a kind of quicksand, slowly pulling some Americans under, fast endangering others,'' the report says. ``The economic rules of society seem grossly unfair to them - from how corporations work with their employees, to who shoulders the burden of taxes and budget sacrifices, to growing gaps in Americans' income.''
Those interviewed said they fear that corporate greed, falling wages, and an unfair tax system are helping to create a two-class system in America, the rich and the poor. They believe the middle class is disappearing.
Quoting a Tallahassee, Fla., woman - no names are used in the report - on the lack of opportunity: ``It's very disheartening. Four or five years getting yourself through school and you get out and, especially women, you find yourself doing secretarial work.''
Next to the economy, the second major area of concern for those interviewed was family and children.
``People say that as adults confront increasing economic and personal demands, and neighbors and communities turn inward, children are left to raise themselves,'' Harwood's report says. ``A tremendous void is left - filled by faceless institutions, television and its messages of violence and hate, and society's infatuation with materialism.
``While such issues often get reduced to neatly packaged slogans during a campaign year, these issues are real and heartfelt to Americans. People are moved by them.''
Although the phrase, ``It takes a whole village to raise a child,'' has become nearly a cliche, Harwood said it came up in literally every single group. People remembered their childhoods, when every adult they knew watched out for them. The report said those interviewed regretted that it is not like that anymore.
A Davenport, Iowa, woman said, ``When I was growing up, I had nine mothers. They all lived up and down my street. If someone saw me do something wrong, I got in trouble.''
As the presidential election approaches, people would like to hear what candidates think about these issues and what they would do. But according to the report, they fear they will not hear that from the candidates or the media.
They told Harwood the upcoming presidential election will probably be ``a soap opera'' just like past elections, with the media focused on irrelevancies.
``Let's not go after every little thing,'' a woman in Iowa said. ``Let's not talk about someone bad, because that's teaching our kids, once again, that the only way you're gonna get anywhere is by talking bad about somebody.''
A man in Jacksonville, Fla., said, ``I want to know if my president was involved in shipping cocaine, involved in land fraud, or some kind of real estate swindle. But I don't want to know if my president likes having his butt tickled with a long feather.''
Participants said politicians aren't much better. People see them as out of touch and lacking the ability to lead.
In Iowa, a woman said, ``If they could live here for one day, then they would understand where we're coming from. Because they've got bodyguards, they've got limousines, they've got fancy restaurants, they don't know what it's like in the real world. They live in their world.''
Politicians are apparently not solely to blame. Those interviewed also said citizens are not living up to their responsibilities, either. ``We get the government we deserve,'' said a man in Des Moines, Iowa.
At the very least, they said, people should vote. ``We're the big democracy,'' a Los Angeles man said. ``These people are dying in other countries just for the sheer pleasure of voting, and we just sit here and say, `Oh no, not today.' ''
After listening to the people recently interviewed, and others interviewed in past years, Harwood said several themes emerged.
The key values in the '96 campaigns and issues, Harwood said, should be responsibility, fairness and balance. People want to feel that there is something they can do and that government does not have all the answers.
Americans, Harwood said, ``want to dream, but they do not want to chase fantasies that merely lead to more frustration.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
The report, ``America's Struggle Within,'' describes several
specific problems people see in the economy:
Falling behind. The average American family, people said, has to
have several jobs just to try to keep up, and doesn't always
succeed. Wages, they said, are not keeping up with even modest
inflation.
Corporate greed. People believe corporate leaders are greedier
than ever. Too many jobs have become part-time positions with no
benefits, they said, and top executives are making too much money.
Unfair taxes. Most people interviewed believed that the richer
you are, the less taxes you pay. They think it is so ingrained in
the system that even when the government shifts tax rates, it will
inevitably benefit the rich.
Income gap. Out of all these circumstances and others, people
believe, America is producing a two-class system, the rich and the
poor, and gradually eliminating the middle class.
The specific problems people identified for families are:
Missing parents. Taken out of the home by multiple jobs, parents
are often missing from their children's lives, leaving them without
enough direction.
Breakdown of the community. Adults remember that when they were
young, almost any other adult could discipline them, or watch out
for them. They lament that that has mostly disappeared.
Schools as home. People are troubled by how much Americans
apparently rely on schools to raise their children.
Messages of hate and violence. People fear the effect of the
messages their children see on television, especially since adults
have less time to supervise what their children see.
Materialism. Too much of the culture, people think, is based on
messages of materialism. They and everyone else, they said, have to
have the best and most of every product.
by CNB