No more Mr. Nice Guy, apparently. Seventy-five percent (75%) of adults say Americans are becoming ruder and less civilized, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Just 10% say Americans are becoming kinder and gentler instead, while 15% are not sure.
Women under the age of 40 feel more strongly than any other age group that Americans are becoming ruder and less civilized. But overwhelmingly in every demographic category, Americans say the behavior of their fellow countrymen is coarsening.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of Americans say they have had to confront someone because of his or her rude behavior in public. But 45% say they’ve never had to do that.
By 11 points, men are more likely than women to have confronted a person who is being rude in public. Those ages 18 to 29 are far more likely to have done so than those who are older.
Adults are evenly divided over whether recent rude behavior by public figures like rap star Kanye West, tennis pro Serena Williams and Joe Wilson, the congressman who called out “you lie” during President Obama’s recent speech to Congress, makes the situation worse. Forty-one percent (41%) say these actions lead to more rude behavior by Americans, but 38% disagree. Twenty-one percent (21%) are undecided.
Perhaps due to Wilson’s inclusion in the question, there’s a rare partisan divide here. Republicans and those not affiliated with either major political party are evenly divided on the question. Democrats, on the other hand, by 12 points say rude conduct by public figures leads to more such behavior by Americans.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of all Americans say it is rude for someone sitting next to you in public to be talking on their cell phone. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say this is not rude behavior.
Even more adults (63%) believe it is rude for someone to text message during a social event. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree.
Women more than men regard both talking on the cell phone publicly and texting at a social event as rude behavior. In both cases, adults ages 40 and over believe this much more strongly than younger Americans.
Ninety percent (90%) of adults say no one should be allowed to text message while they drive, while 53% believe the same about talking on the cell phone.
Thirty-six percent (36%) of Americans say road rage is increasing in the United States, while 42% say it’s staying about the same. Just eight percent (8%) believe road rage is decreasing.
In March, 18% of Americans said the bad economy has negatively affected a personal relationship with a friend or family member, although most adults (79%) said they haven’t had that problem.
Referring to Wilson’s comment and other criticism of Obama’s health care plan, some Democrats, including former president Jimmy Carter, have suggested that racism was their motivation. But just 12% of voters believe that most opponents of the president’s plan are racist.
Most U.S. voters (69%) continue to believe that American society is generally fair and decent. Only 21% see society as generally unfair and discriminatory.
