Most of the people you meet in everyday life – at work, in the neighborhood – are decent and normal. Even nice. But hit Twitter or watch the news, and you’d think we were all crazy and mean.
Why it matters: The rising power and prominence of the country’s loudest, meanest voices obscures what most of us personally experience: Most people are healthy and generous — and too busy to tweet.
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Reality check: It turns out you’re right. We delved into the data and found that, in fact, most Americans to be kind, donate time or money, and would help you shovel your snow. They are busy, normal and mostly quiet.
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These are not the people with big Twitter followers or cable news contracts — and they try not to argue at school board meetings.
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so the people that get the clicks and the coverage distort our true reality.
Three stats we find reassuring:
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75% of people in the US never tweet.
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On an average weekday evening in January, only 1% of US adults watched primetime Fox News (2.2 million). 0.5% aligned with MSNBC (1.15 million).
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Almost three times more Americans (56%) donated to charities during the pandemic than usually giving money to politicians and parties (21%).
📊 One chart worth sharing: As polarized as America may seem, the Independents – who sit somewhere in the middle – would be the largest party.
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In Gallup’s 2021 poll, 29% of Americans identified as Democrats…27% as Republicans…and 42% as independents.
Reprinted from Gallup; Graphics: Axios Visuals
It comes down to: Every current trend suggests that politics will become more toxic before it normalizes. But the silent majority gives us hope beyond futility.
🏁 Editor’s Note: This article was first written for the launch edition of Axios Finish Line, which is part of the Axios Daily Essentials newsletter package.
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