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J.D. Tuccille: Most Americans think the best is behind them

For it's 250th birthday, the country turns pessimistic

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It’s a major anniversary year for the U.S., which marks 250 years as an independent nation. But many Americans aren’t in the mood to celebrate. Most think the quarter-millennium of existence enjoyed by the country was the best time we’re likely to see, and that the future is bound to be grim. 

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In recent polling, reports Pew Research’s Blen Wondimu, “59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.” Forty-four per cent report feeling very or somewhat pessimistic about what the U.S. will be like in 50 years, as opposed to 28 per cent who feel optimistic and 27 per cent who just aren’t sure. 

J.D. Tuccille: Most Americans think the best is behind them Back to video

As with everything that divides Americans, these days, responses break along the lines of political partisanship. Out of power, 64 per cent of Democrats and survey respondents who lean toward that party say the country’s best years are in the past; only 34 per cent say they lie ahead. But even dominant Republicans can only summon mixed sentiments; 53 per cent say the country’s best years are behind us, while 46 per cent say they’re in the future. 

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