Polls and predictions

The year end reviews are rolling across the internets. Dahlia Lithwick posts one of the best, The Bill of Wrongs -The 10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006.

On the international front, Richard Clarke posts a sobering review of the foreign policy disasters that loom ahead while the White House narrowed its focus to deal with the ongoing debacle of the occupation.

And in an object lesson on why you shouldn't trust polls, or at least the interpretation of polls, we have these dueling headlines. Using the same AP Poll, one claims Americans predict the year ahead with optimism, focusing on their personal successes.

I think this personifies the "I've got mine, too bad if you didn't get yours," mentality that permeates our society today. I remember when "sharing the wealth" was a moral value in this country. Now it's used as a way to tar anyone who embraces the concept as a commie socialist. I think we lost a lot when such a Christian concept was redefined as a political blungeon.

Meanwhile, this one claims the poll shows Americans are pessimistic about the future. This spin focused on the the nation's concerns over our misadventures in foreign policy and the fear of pending terrorist attacks on our soil. Legitimate concerns to be sure, but I found this statistic the most interesting - "One in four, 25 percent, anticipates the second coming of Jesus Christ." I guess, even though this is the eagerly awaiting event of the rapture crowd, that it does fit the pessimistic theme better because the second coming is predicted to occur on the heels of the Armageddon.

The only thing that seems clear in these result to me, is that our nation continues to be greatly divided and shows no sign of finding common ground with their fellow man, nor any particular desire to do so.