The One-Minute Meeting

Americans say they are not at all optimistic that children will have a better future than current adults. The polling, by The Wall Street Journal and NORC, finds that there is a declining value placed on marriage, religion and even patriotism. One in five Americans said community involvement is not that important. And 40% or more of Americans say the nagging problems of expensive health care, drug prices and housing are top concerns.

You will without a doubt hear the results of this polling in upcoming political campaigns, but they should also show up in daily news coverage. People are concerned about core issues and need help navigating them while Congress spends its time on TikTok and … oh don’t get me started.

Americans do agree on some things, according to the new polling. 90% of us say hard work is very important and more than nine in 10 of us say tolerance of others is important. I suppose there is a difference between “tolerance” and “acceptance,” but for sure the data tells me the tiny minority of Americans who espouse intolerance are getting too much time on camera.

Speaking of which, a big new survey of people who identify as trans (and there are about 2 million of such fellow Americans) says transitioning helped them. Most say they realized they were trans in childhood.

Today’s column is a little data-heavy, but I wanted to get the numbers in front of journalists to help them think about what is on the public’s collective mind. I hope we can ask if we are covering what concerns people most, even if those topics are difficult, messy, time-consuming and a little wonky. People can navigate the easy stuff on their own.