The Two Faces of America

As America enters a grand debate over public policy, I think it's vital that we also maintain our focus on personal character, particularly as it pertains to the values we esteem in our leaders and legislation. This week, columnist Peter Schweizer made headlines for his article, "Conservatives more honest than liberals?" In it, he chronicles a series of recent polls and surveys that point to America's state of moral confusion and the ideological discrepancies that appear to be fueling it. In the National Cultural Values Survey, the Culture and Media Institute compared the answers of what they termed "Orthodox" respondents (those who consider faith in God the most important ingredient for a good and moral life) to "Progressive" respondents (those who reject religion and follow their own moral compass).

When researchers posed a series of questions to these groups, the inconsistencies were startling. On adultery, a behavior almost universally condemned, 35% of Progressives said, "There are some situations where [it's] understandable," compared to 3% of Orthodox. To the statement "Sex between unmarried adults is always wrong," 68% of Orthodox responded yes, while only 3% of Progressives agreed. Almost half (45%) of Progressives said it was okay to break some laws because "they are outdated or breaking them doesn't hurt anyone," compared to 13% of Orthodox. Asked if it was okay to cheat the federal government on taxes, 49% of Progressives said it was okay, while less than half the Orthodox (21%) concurred.

A survey by World Values took things a step further and compared the values of self-described liberals and conservatives. On nearly every subject, "very liberal" respondents were more likely to abandon integrity in favor of personal interest. Compared to "very conservative" participants, they were more likely to approve of buying "stolen goods," lying to Uncle Sam, accepting welfare benefits they don't qualify for, and drinking a can of soda in a store without paying for it. This "honesty gap" could mean a couple of things. Either conservatives really have more character than liberals, or they're simply more conscientious about maintaining their image of adhering to standards of right and wrong.

Source: FRC.