February 18, 2024: Poor Us -

From the Pew Research people, this week, 71% of Americans believe that "their side" is losing.

Theories:

1) This is because it is human nature to notice When We Are in the Slow Line, but to fail to notice When We Are in the Fast Line.  We expect to win (or at least to tie), and it doesn't get our attention. But being at a disadvantage is a sign of vulnerability - the hungry saber-tooth-tigers are circling just beyond the campfire light! Eeek!!

2) This is because we Americans are the pawns of (fill in the blank: social media, Fox, merchants of outrage of one stripe or another) who only TALK ABOUT when we are in the slow line, in order to keep us all riled up, because outrage attracts eyeballs, reposts, etc.

3) (variation on 2, or on both of the above) We just like being upset and self-pitying.

4) We all have different definitions of losing. (So? This one doesn't seem to explain much. I am tossing it out there in case you have some brilliant analysis that I didn't imagine. Please elaborate. And no, WE ARE losing, while THEY are just paranoid is not a brilliant analysis.)

Questions:

Did you immediately think of Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average? 

Is the feeling of losing to the other side a human/American constant? (The Pew article goes back to 2016. In those years, the largest number is our current 71%, while the smallest is 56%.) Does the number ever go to 50%? Does it ever go below?

Is there data on other countries? Less-polarized countries, for instance?

Not unrelated:

At a reunion years ago, someone reported on the results of a class survey. One question was along the lines of, "Are you more liberal than most of your classmates?" Most of us said Yes, I am more liberal. Not just "most," but something like 80%. Anyway, the person at the microphone - and I believe it may have been my friend Pat, who I hope remembers this moment (and the percentage, fingers crossed) - said, "Who do you think the rest of us ARE?"  Brought the house down.