Most Americans unhappy with country’s moral climate

An annual Gallup Poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with the country’s moral and ethical climate, while younger people seem to be less pessimistic.

Gallup’s annual Mood of the Nation poll found that 64 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the country’s moral climate, while 35 percent say they are satisfied with the moral climate.

Pollsters say the “fairly dim view” on American morality was likely influenced by corporate scandals involving Enron and Martha Stewart, Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl halftime show and increasing attention paid to gay marriage.

Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 seem more optimistic – in the 2003 and 2004 polls, 53 percent of younger Americans said they are satisfied with the country’s morality. Among older adults, the highest level of satisfaction – 38 percent- was found among those ages 30 to 49, Among Americans ages 65 and older, only 29 percent were satisfied.

Gallup contributing editor Heather Mason said the generational divide is “a pattern that has existed for several years.”

“Adults under the age of 30 grew up in the era of the Internet, music videos and cable television shows that continued to push the moral envelope, and may not remember a time when profanity and sexual content were more taboo,” she said in Gallup’s Tuesday Briefing report.

The annual poll of 1,004 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Among respondents ages 18-29, the margin of error was plus or minus 6 percentage points.