In medieval times, people entertained themselves with morality plays. Now, we can entertain ourselves with morality polls. The eighties may someday be recorded by historians as the decade in which Americans rediscovered morality, chastity, and traditional values as topics of conversation and controversy.
U.S. News and World Report recently published one of its all-inclusive articles on the state of “Morality” in the United States. Based on a Roper survey, it concluded that “Americans” are less bound by traditional morality, that “we” are less judgmental about immoral acts than we used to be, and that “permissive attitudes still prevail.”
The impression is given that all Americans have relaxed their traditional moral standards and are now more tolerant about such matters as cheating on their income-tax returns, lying in everyday situations, and engaging in premarital sex. However, anyone who concludes that is misreading the Roper figures.
What the Roper survey shows (we’ll assume for the sake of argument that the poll figures are accurate, without necessarily conceding that) is that some Americans are willing to transgress traditional morality. However, those who respect and observe traditional standards are just as moral as ever.
It’s a false use of statistics to attribute a percentage of the views expressed by some to all those who are polled. It is false to presume an average based on contrasting views or data.
For example, in the November 1984 election, 59% voted for Ronald Reagan and 41% for Walter Mondale. Does that mean that the “average” American is only 59% supportive of Reagan and is 41% supportive of Mondale? Obviously not. The 59% expressed themselves as 100% in favor of Reagan’s reelection, while the other 41% expressed themselves as 100% in favor of Mondale’s election.
If you are told that it will snow today over 50% of the United States, does that make you wear boots in Miami or San Diego? Obviously not. There is probably a 100% chance that it won’t snow in those cities.
Let’s examine the Roper poll question, “Have you been less than completely honest on tax returns?” Note the convoluted wording of the question combined with its absolute nature. The pollster didn’t ask, “Have you ever been dishonest on tax returns?” The question was phrased in such a way as to make it easy for the respondee to answer “yes.”
Nevertheless, 74% responded “no” while only 24% said “yes,” which Roper calls a 5 point “leap” from the “no” answers to the same question a year ago. Anyone who reads this question as indicating that the “American people” have become more tolerant of cheating on income tax returns is in for a big shock if he tries cheating on next year’s tax return. The answers to this poll question may show that a higher percentage of Americans do cheat on their tax returns, but they also show that the big majority of Americans are just as scrupulous as ever in making out their returns honestly.
Roper asked the poll question, “Do you admit to calling in [to your employer and claiming you are] sick when you are not?” Overall, 33% answered “yes.” The breakdown on these answers shows a clear age difference: 46% of those in the 18-29 age group said “yes,” while only 13% of those in the over 60 age group said “yes.”
This does not mean that an employer can assume that 33% of those who call in sick are cheating. It means that he has two kinds of employees, those who cheat and those who don’t. If the employer wants to run a cost-efficient business, it behooves him to find out which are which, preferably before he hires them.
Roper asked the question, “Is it wrong for a man and a woman to have sexual relations before marriage?” The poll’s results showed 61% saying “not wrong” and 36% saying “wrong.”
The news and entertainment media are beaming the message daily that “the American people” are tolerant and permissive about premarital sex. But the polling data don’t show that at all. They show that some believe it is wrong and others believe it is not wrong.
The Roper poll does not show that “Americans” are more “permissive” about morals.
The poll shows that we have become a two-class society. The real divisions today that exist in politics, education, and the workforce are not between political parties, religious denominations, races, sexes, or income levels, but between those who respect traditional moral standards and those who don’t.
