Opinion: Cause for optimism in America

With the presidential election only weeks away, the mood of the nation is not positive. Just three in 10 voters say that the country is on the right track, and the same dismally low number believes that the U.S. economy is headed in the right direction. After economic concerns, the most important issue in the minds of Americans as they head into the voting booths is the state of democracy. Most Americans see deep divisions in values across the nation and political violence as commonplace.
The current state of political acrimony and perceived polarization have been compounded by the fact that neither presidential candidate is widely liked personally. In fact, as of early October 2024, polls showed that 46.5% had an unfavorable opinion of Kamala Harris and 52.6% felt unfavorably toward Donald Trump
While it is easy to become pessimistic about our politics, we both remain incredibly optimistic about the future of our nation. We say this because we know that community and culture ultimately lead, and politicians follow. We also have had the forward-facing, hopeful experience of speaking with a number of high school groups and young people in recent months. The youth of America, though often maligned as selfie-obsessed, narcissistic and addicted to social media, clearly recognize that the nation is troubled by the current culture wars and defiantly declare that they reject polarization — real and politically perceived.
These young people, who span the ideological spectrum, have expressed to us that they believe the extremism and hate is driven by those striving for political power, money and attention. Often more observationally astute and media savvy than their parents, young people believe that the balkanization around identity politics and diversity is reductionist, dangerous, absolutely unhealthy and unnecessary for our nation, communities and society.
It turns out that our student meetings were not exceptional; large numbers of those in Gen Z and Generation Alpha across the nation report holding views about our nation’s future similar to those of the students we have met. Scholar, educator and religious leader Neil A. Maxwell observed, “Unlike some pendulums, political pendulums do not swing back automatically; they must be pushed. History is full of instances when people have waited in vain for pendulums to swing back.” It is usually the rising generation that provides the push, and today’s youth appear ready to provide just that.
The Springtide Research Institute just released its 2024 Survey of Young People and Civic Life, which sampled 6,669 young people between the ages of 13 and 25 residing in the U.S. We hope and are actually confident that these younger Americans can and will make their voices heard in the coming years. They have a notably healthy approach toward civic life, socio-community health and managing and engaging with differences.
Over two thirds of younger Americans (68%) believe that adults have done a poor job handling political issues in the U.S., and significant numbers report that when adults talk to them about politics, the adults can be engaging and informative, but also aggressive and close-minded. As for the salience of politics in their lives, younger Americans — a plurality of 46% — report that politics is not at all important in their lives or that politics is among the least important things in in their lives. Just 19% claim that politics is among the most important or the most important thing in their lives. This bodes well for the future with so many young people grounding their identity and finding meaning and purpose outside of politics.
In terms of political discussion and engagement with others, younger Americans are clearly open to and embracing difference and disagreement. The data reveals that 58% of young people agree that it is possible to have a close relationship with someone with whom they disagree politically, and another 52% of young people disagree with, and reject, the idea that they would stop speaking to someone who strongly opposed their political views.
Most encouraging for the future of our constitutional republic, it appears that these youngest American generational cohorts put these ideas into practice. When asked about their closest friend with whom they discuss politics with most often, 55% of younger Americans share that they generally agree with each other on their political views. While this is a significant figure, 45% also report that the primary friend with whom they discuss politics is someone that does not agree with them or is decidedly mixed. Relatedly, when asked if they would stop speaking to someone if they strongly opposed their own political views, just 17% answered that they would cut ties based on political disagreement.
Younger Americans are not turning away when they encounter disagreement, but are actually leaning into and embracing political differences in views and opinion in their own social networks. Their attitudes about how to approach disagreement politics more generally follows suit too. When asked about whether or not people should try to discuss their political differences openly, 49% believe in open discussion compared to just 16% who do not. On the issue of the importance of trying to understand both sides of a political issue, 68% of younger Americans agree with this idea. And 66% of younger Americans also agree with the notion that if we educated ourselves about others’ views, it would help us see both sides more clearly.
When it comes to politics, the rising generations seem to be adopting a healthy perspective of the political process shared by Sutherland Institute founder Gaylord Swim, who said, “This process requires strong advocates, certainly, but it also takes a counter-balancing sense of humility, civility, and dialogue … the political course often leads to power struggles, pride, vanity and egocentric ambition, ending in acrimony. It all too often manifests itself in strident voices, character assassinations, protest demonstrations, cloakroom deals, and corruption.”
It appears young people today are increasingly committed to that counter-balancing sense of humility, civility and dialogue that are key to preserving the nation.
Beyond politics, despite so much affective polarization and negativity in the nation, the survey reveals that the social lives and outlook of young Americans are not particularly pessimistic whatsoever. Almost three quarters of Gen Z and Generation Alpha respondents (73%) believe that their social relationships are supportive and rewarding, and 71% report that they lead a purposeful and meaningful life. While there are concerns about the American Dream and its achievement, these data show that 73% of the respondents are optimistic about their future. Young people today appear to be much more communitarian and service-seeking than their parents. When asked about community, 75% of respondents believe that they actively contribute to the happiness and well-being of others.
With respect to faith and religion, contrary to popular commentary, younger Americans have not completely rejected religious practice. When asked about the relative import of religion in one’s life, a third (32%) report that religion is either not at all important in their lives or among the least important things in their lives. However, 42% of younger Americans also report that religion is either the most important thing in their life or among the most important things in their lives, with another quarter unsure of their views. Moreover, when asked about the need for a religious or spiritual community in their lives, about a third are unsure (32%) but 36% agree that they have a need for this community in their lives, with 32% disagreeing with such a sentiment. These are not incredibly high numbers, but faith is not entirely gone among younger Americans, either. Community and sociability develops from faith-based communities, which is quite a positive sign as well.
That all being said, it is certainly possible that the optimistic and open-minded attitudes and views among Gen Z and Generation Alpha may change with time and age. But these younger Americans are not disconnected and ignorant citizens either; they are well-aware and frustrated by the nation’s polarized partisanship, toxic discourse and cancel culture, having grown up in its midst and seeing its impacts. They want to move well beyond this political paralysis and are very open to difference and debate, both theoretically and in their own personal networks. Their preferences and values can shift our nation’s discourse into something positive and inclusive and can help put an end to so much divisiveness.
Winston Churchill laid out the critical call for young people when he declared, “To every man there comes that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talent.” Churchill then cautioned, “What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.”
If the young people of America respond to their tap-on-the-shoulder moment and use their voices to demand better from our parties and politicians, move into the electorate and become civically engaged in the coming decades, we can have great hope and confidence that for our nation, the best is indeed yet to come.
Boyd Matheson is the host of Inside Sources on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.