14 DAY TRIAL // When questioned about how they feel about the decade that is just coming to an end, most American citizens in a new survey have responded that it was the worst one in a long time. The research has focused on analyzing people's perception of decades and determined that a huge number of US respondents think of 2000-2009 as the worst set of years since the 1960s. All other decades since have been ranked higher than the current one, with the 1980s making the top of the list, LiveScience reports.
Americans have rated the 2000s as the worst decade ever by a 2-1 margin. Experts at the Pew Research Center, who have been in charge of the new investigation, believe that the negative response may be in fact owed to a phenomenon known as rose-colored glasses. “The passage of time may affect the way people view these historical periods,” the Pew group explains. It also reveals that most Americans believe that the decade that lies ahead will undoubtedly be a lot better than the current one. The people think that things will improve considerably over the next ten years, although they give no reason why they think this will happen.
The 779 test participants have used a lot of words to describe the 2000s. The Top 10 words include terms such as downhill, change, good, poor, decline, disappointing, turbulent/turmoil, chaos/chaotic, not good, bad, but the Pew team reveals that words such as greed and disaster were also very close to making it to the top. The research should raise an alarm signal for politicians and policymakers in the United States.
They continuously say that they represent the will of the people, even when they engage in some of the most unpopular actions, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The conflicts have long since lost their originally massive, popular support, and are currently being carried out of financial reasons alone. Most people are beginning to realize that the US do not represent freedom or democracy in these countries, but a destructive force, driven by corporate greed.
The Pew study shows that nearly 50 percent of the respondents have been unhappy with this decade. An additional 27 percent of study participants see it as better than any other since the 1960s, while the rest of the population prefers not responding. It has also been revealed that, in spite of this negative perception of the 2000s, more than 59 percent of respondents believe that the 2010s will be a lot more fulfilling, and better in overall terms.
Still, the people have also underlined some of the things – technological innovations and scientific accomplishments – that changed their lives for the better. Leading the way, with 69 percent of respondents choosing it, is the cell phone, followed by “green products” (68 percent), the e-mail (65 percent), and the Internet, also at 65 percent.