A new Pew Research Center study found 53% of U.S. adults rated Americans’ morals and ethics as “bad,” making the U.S. the only country surveyed where that view prevailed.
Trust in other people underpins everything from civic life to everyday cooperation, so broad skepticism about neighbors’ character can shape politics, institutions and social cohesion.
Pew’s findings add an international benchmark to a long-running American debate about polarization and whether people see opponents—and even fellow citizens—as acting in good faith.
I see people blatantly run red lights almost every single day. In terms of the intersection between malicious and just plain stupid, it’s hard to get much worse imo.
I feel like lawlessness really ramped up during COVID. Underlying tension and lack of enforcement probably, but COVID is long over and people are still doing bonkers stuff. I saw people driving on the sidewalk because they wanted to left turn out of a lot and cars were in the way, people shooting the wrong way down the street to skip past a long line of left turning cars, and most of all people stopping at a red then deliberately running it because nobody else is coming.
Ah, shit, I feel called out. I feel that one’s defensible in certain circumstances. The stupid underground magnet sensors never seem to detect me, it’s nearly midnight with a traffic rate of 20 cars an hour, and I can sit at that intersection for 10 minutes without the light changing…
Even without those circumstances though, stopping at a red light, ensuring the way is clear, and then proceeding seems responsible enough.
If the sensor isn’t detecting you I totally understand! I’ve had that happen when riding my bicycle. But if it is detecting, then what’s an extra 15-60 seconds? I live in a state that allows a right turn on red after stop, and maybe I’m more chill about waiting.
I also admit, I did that for the first time quite recently. But I don’t think a potential ticket is worth it.
From my experience, there’s a weird sensor/processor mismatch. The light to go straight will turn green when I’m in the left turn lane (the default is the cross traffic has the green light unless someone is sitting on my road), but won’t ever trigger the left turn. I’ve gone across the road, u-turned, and then taken a right in order to go the original left… but sometimes I just run the red light to go left in the first place.
Humorously, the intersection is probably within eyesight of the local police agency, except for a giant office building blocking the view. I’ve never even seen a cop nearby.