According to a recent Gallup poll which measured the extent of freedom in over 130 countries, America came in at a very unimpressive 33.
The report showed that less than 80% of Americans say they’re satisfied with their freedom to choose what to do with their lives, this down from 87% in 2008. The top five nations where people feel most satisfied with their freedoms were New Zealand, Australia, Cambodia, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. At No. 33, the United States is sandwiched between Bahrain and Cameroon.
“Freedom”
There might be some confusion in the word “freedom” used by Gallup as citizens of different countries may have interpreted the word differently. That may explain why Cambodians — enjoying peaceful elections as they recover from years of war — rank among the top five. Still, the changes shown since five years ago do still demonstrate whether people in any country feel their freedoms are improving or deteriorating.
Interestingly, one of the few places where freedoms seem to be on the wane is the United States. Of the 100 countries where Gallup measured changes in freedom during this period of time, 75 of them registered an improvement, 21 registered a decline and four remained the same. Among those that voiced a reduction, only five nations report sharper drops than the United States. Two of them — Syria and Afghanistan — are dominated by armed uprisings. Two others — Tajikistan and Thailand — are racked with political turmoil. Luxembourg, the most prosperous of the decliners, has become a target of U.S. and European authorities going after tax evaders with foreign accounts.
The new U.S. position in the lineup has brought a new humility to many Americans. In a separate poll conducted by Pew Research, data showed that the percentage of Americans who believe the United States “stands above all other countries” dropped from 38% in 2011 to 28% in 2014. Young Americans are even less enthralled with their home country, with only 15% of 18-29-year-olds saying the United States is the world’s No. 1 nation. Among seniors, 40% feel that way but even that is down from 50% just three years ago.
Economic Correlation
This sense of self-effacement directly correlates to the current economic downtrend that has affected many Americans. The recession that ended in 2009 shrank the economic fortunes of many American families, and the median household wealth remains about 40% lower than it was before the recession. Jobs have finally started to return, but for many workers, income is lower than it was in the past. People feel they’re falling behind, and the data show that this is true. That’s a loss of economic freedom, which impacts other choices, with many Americans questioning the once infallible principle that everybody can get ahead in the so-called land of the free.