{"id":1375054,"date":"2022-03-14T07:47:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T11:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1375054"},"modified":"2022-03-14T07:52:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T11:52:24","slug":"casey-mattox-americans-feel-less-free-dont-trust-leaders-post-covid-pandemic-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/casey-mattox-americans-feel-less-free-dont-trust-leaders-post-covid-pandemic-poll\/","title":{"rendered":"Casey Mattox: Americans Feel Less Free, Don\u2019t Trust Leaders Post-COVID Pandemic: Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcasey-mattox-americans-feel-less-free-dont-trust-leaders-post-covid-pandemic-poll%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1375054&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>For many Americans, March 11, 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/buzzfeednews\/march-11-covid-tom-hanks-nba-who\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is the day<\/a> the coronavirus started to feel like a real pandemic, as our elected officials rushed to respond to the crisis. Two years later, Americans\u2019 view of their civil liberties \u2014 and their confidence in public officials \u2014 has taken a beating.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/americansforprosperity.org\/covid-civil-liberties-poll\/\">new poll<\/a> conducted by YouGov and Americans for Prosperity\u00a0(AFP) and released exclusively to The Post reveals that Americans feel their core freedoms are less secure than before the pandemic. This is true often by substantial margins: 42% feel less secure about voicing their opinions, 43% feel less secure about their freedom to protest, 36% feel less secure about their freedom to exercise religious beliefs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is bad news for our foundational rights. Even if our rights remain on solid legal ground, the perception they are not can cause us to think twice about speaking up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also bad news for our public officials. \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/grand-central-station.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/grand-central-station.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"The city that finally slept: NYC on March 23, 2020 (above), when the coronavirus felt like a true pandemic.\" class=\"wp-image-21488169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/grand-central-station.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/grand-central-station.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/grand-central-station.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The city that finally slept: NYC on March 23, 2020 (above), when the coronavirus felt like a true pandemic. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ANGELA WEISS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While a healthy skepticism of government power is wise in a democracy, in a true crisis public officials must make snap decisions to protect the public. Whether people follow those decisions depends, in part, on their confidence in the leaders making them. Unfortunately, when asked about every single institution or office in the YouGov\/AFP poll, the majority of respondents said their trust in those institutions had dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nearly three in five Americans said the government did a \u201csomewhat\u201d or \u201cvery poor\u201d job clearly communicating to the public about data or reasoning regarding any pandemic restriction or requirement. And 54% thought government officials did a \u201csomewhat\u201d or \u201cvery poor\u201d job applying any restrictions or requirements to all people (including themselves) equally. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/cenral-park-zoo.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/cenral-park-zoo.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"After two years of mask mandates, 42% of Americans feel less secure about voicing their opinions, while 43% feel less secure about their freedom to protest.\" class=\"wp-image-21488199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/cenral-park-zoo.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/cenral-park-zoo.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/cenral-park-zoo.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>After two years of mask mandates, 42% of Americans feel less secure about voicing their opinions, while 43% feel less secure about their freedom to protest.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Noam Galai<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Almost two years ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/2020\/05\/13\/opinion-five-steps-protect-public-health-regain-trust-and-ensure-liberty\/3120145001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">I wrote about<\/a> how public officials might \u201cpromote public health, regain trust, and ensure liberty.\u201d These poll results show they\u2019ve failed in every respect. What lessons should leaders take from this? \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>First<strong>, don\u2019t treat citizens as subjects<\/strong>. Top-down answers don\u2019t work. Instead, take more advantage of the knowledge of local civic and community leaders \u2014 people on the ground who are closest to their communities and their needs. When they come up with creative ways to hold drive-in church services and organize outdoor rallies in the open air to keep their communities both safe and engaged, accept their help instead of arresting their congregants and activists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/jen-psaki-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/jen-psaki-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"On July 15, 2021, Jen Psaki called on social media companies to vet COVID \" misinformation \/><\/a><figcaption>On July 15, 2021, Jen Psaki called on social media companies to vet COVID \u201cmisinformation\u201d on their platforms. But such censorship has led many to question the government\u2019s own message. \u00a0<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Chip Somodevilla<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Second<strong>,<\/strong> <strong>keep your restrictions as focused and limited as possible<\/strong>. If you\u2019re facing a virus most easily spread in confined, indoor spaces, should we arrest a lone surfer in the ocean or fill skate parks with sand? No \u2014 that\u2019s sweeping rather than precise. As new information becomes available, reassess, revise and refine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Third, <strong>comply with your own rules<\/strong>. During the pandemic we saw constant examples of public officials\u00a0decreeing one thing and doing another, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom who went maskless at a dinner in 2020 despite his own mandate. Hypocrisy is nothing new in politics. But when you claim emergency powers and a responsibility to keep people safe, you must demonstrate that you are complying with your own public health rules. Convince people you aren\u2019t asking them to give up any temporary liberty you aren\u2019t willing to give up yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-wrapper twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">EXCLUSIVE: We&#8217;ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he&#8217;s in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOXLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FOXLA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gtOVEwa864\">pic.twitter.com\/gtOVEwa864<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BillFOXLA\/status\/1328932610169561090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Finally, <strong>respond to bad information with better ideas, not bans<\/strong>. Governments are rarely fans of dissent. But dissent is what drives discovery and accountability. Especially during a pandemic, where the science evolved along with the virus, censorship of \u201cmisinformation\u201d has led many to question the government\u2019s own message. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Economist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/graphic-detail\/2020\/02\/18\/diseases-like-covid-19-are-deadlier-in-non-democracies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that democracies \u2014 in part because of the free flow of information \u2014 experience lower mortality rates during epidemics than their non-democratic counterparts: \u201cDuring an outbreak, for example, constructive feedback about how government policies are working can help guide a more dynamic response. Non-democratic societies often restrict the flow of information and persecute perceived critics.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/joe-biden-10.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/joe-biden-10.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"The last year has shown that top-down answers don\u2019t work. Instead, local civic and community leaders should be relied upon for more targeted, practical solutions.\" class=\"wp-image-21488236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/joe-biden-10.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/joe-biden-10.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/joe-biden-10.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The last year has shown that top-down answers don\u2019t work. Instead, local civic and community leaders should be relied upon for more targeted, practical solutions.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">KEVIN LAMARQUE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While <strong>30% of respondents, <strong>including a bare majority of Democrats,<\/strong> believe the government should ban the posting of misinformation online<\/strong>, most Americans in the YouGov\/AFP poll say they shouldn\u2019t. And the youngest cohort in the survey, those 18 to 24, were least likely to call for an outright government ban of misinformation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At some point in the future, there will be another crisis where public officials have to make time-sensitive trade-offs, and Americans will need to trust them to do their jobs correctly and appropriately. Sadly, after the experience of the last two years, those officials will begin with a citizenry predisposed not to trust that their civil liberties are safe in their hands. <\/p>\n<p><em>Casey Mattox is senior vice president of legal and judicial strategy at Americans for Prosperity. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For many Americans, March 11, 2020 is the day the coronavirus started to feel like a real pandemic, as our elected officials rushed to respond to the crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1375054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1375054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1375054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1375054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1375054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}