A recently published Gallup poll picks apart the finer points of what Americans see as ‘morally acceptable.’
By David Icke Turner
Photo via Weed and Sex
A record-low 54% of Americans consider the death penalty to be morally acceptable. Seven out of ten Americans believe that smoking marijuana is morally acceptable. Shockingly, only 44% of Americans find abortion to be moralistic. All of these measurements on the constantly changing American attitudes on issues come from a recent Gallup poll that tracks values and beliefs in the United States. Results of the poll demonstrate a quickly changing yet incongruent landscape of U.S. perceptions of 21 different social issues.
The findings from Gallup’s May 1-13 Values and Beliefs poll, shares similarities with polling from last years showing “ decreased public support for the death penalty and a record-high preference for life imprisonment over the death penalty as a better punishment for murder.”
Ganja Unites Us.
When questioned on smoking cannabis, 70% of respondents replied that “smoking marijuana” was morally acceptable. Another 2% asserted that “smoking marijuana was not a moral issue, it depends on the situation, or that they had no opinion.” Obviously, the remaining 28% are total fucking squares.
The National Organization for the reformation of Marijuan Laws (NORML ) quickly up and noticed the new data. In a press release, Justin Strekal, NORML’S director said that the results are indicative of a trend given the fact that there was a 5% increase in ‘acceptability’ compared to last year’s Gallup poll.
“Public opinion continues to drastically evolve in favor of marijuana’s legal and cultural status and it is time that the federal laws evolve as well,” Strekal said.
“As we approach Independence Day, it is reassuring to see that majorities of both sides of the ideological spectrum agree that adults should be free from the shackles of marijuana prohibition. Politicians in Washington should take this opportunity ahead of the 2020 elections to move forward legislation, like The MORE Act, to both amend this failed policy and address the inequities and injustices it has brought for generations, particularly against communities of color.”
Cannabis is not the only issue changing our set of ideological principles. Two-thirds of respondents claimed that giving birth outside of marriage, homosexual intimacy, and medical research using human stem cells are now morally acceptable. Those polled also overwhelmingly found gambling, sex between an unmarried man and woman, divorce, and drinking alcohol all morally acceptable. Surprisingly, Americans also “ found medical testing on animals, the death penalty, buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur, and doctor-assisted suicide morally acceptable.”
Abortion divides us.
The topic of abortion continues to split the America viewpoint with 44% claiming it is morally acceptable and 47% responding that abortion is morally wrong. Americans don’t seem to think much of anything if morally repugnant other than cloning, suicide, polygamy, pornography, and sex between teenagers. How very American to include suicide and cloning in the same arena as porn and polygamy. It seems we simply can not shake our puritan roots.
And it would not be 2020 without examining how the political divide plays into our perceptions on morality. You guessed it, Americans are lock-step ideologies unable to break party lines. Except when it comes to abortion and weed. And the gays.
“Just as views of the death penalty are sharply divided depending on Americans’ ideological identification, so too are many of the other issues measured. Abortion remains the most ideologically polarizing issue asked about, with 70% of liberals and 18% of conservatives classifying it as morally acceptable. Gay or lesbian relations and teenage sex are the next most divisive issues, with acceptability gaps of 41 and 40 percentage points, respectively.”
Yet despite the partisan divide. There are some things as Americans we agree on. Birth control, divorce, sex between an unmarried man and woman, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, having a baby outside of marriage, medical testing on animals, and gambling are all acceptable. Missing from the entire conversation was any discussion of greed. A pretty glaring omission in this day and age.
Show Comments