this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2026
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Americans are exceptionally anxious about their political system, according to new international polling from Gallup, a situation that sets the country apart from other rich and powerful nations.

About one-third of Americans rated politics and government as the top issue facing their nation, behind only Taiwan — which faces the prospect of an invasion from China — and on par with Slovenia, Spain and South Korea.

The United States also stands out for the anxiety its younger residents have over economic issues, with younger Americans more likely than young adults in many of the other 107 surveyed countries to say affordability and other pocketbook issues are worrying them

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[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 85 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thats good. It means at least people are reading the moment well.

[–] LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone 54 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Yeah…. Finally. I mean, I felt like Jan 6 should have been a really big wakup, but wasn’t somehow

[–] n4ch1sm0@piefed.social 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The right wing propaganda machine did such a good job at getting the "apolitical normies" and the otherwise politically nihilistic public to misconstrue the noise as just some left-right partisan debate, with all the buzz about just the rioters; while in the meantime Trump was working in the background at the same time, along with the likes of Rudy Giuliani, to deligitimize the 2020 election in a failed coup, and barely got any coverage. This was Trump's Beer Hall Putsch

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Are you suggesting the rightwing propaganda machine is what prevented Biden from arresting Trump on day one in office?

The only reason J6 was allowed to be effective was Biden.

[–] MacAttak8@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

The ratchet effect at work.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

It is the american system. No american president will ever go to jail for crimes

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I continue to be floored that so many people didn’t seem to care about that - or even admit that it happened. I watched it live and it was genuinely insane. Like, “oh fuck, this is looking a whole fucking lot like a coup, I wonder if we’ll be a democracy tomorrow” insane.

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

I feel like everyone paying attention was very awake that day.

The problem is the real winner in every election is "didn't vote". Fuck every single person that isn't voting.

[–] notannpc@lemmy.world 48 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It’s almost like we’ve been watching the checks and balances we were taught would protect us from tyranny fall apart in front of our eyes to a frail, old, nincompoop.

Congress has basically conceded its power to a pedophile. Could that be why we’re so anxious? Or perhaps because the DOJ is allowing laws to be flagrantly violated in public with zero consequences as long as you are aligned with the pedophile and his goals?

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Congress has basically conceded its power to a pedophile.

And to a bunch international mobsters relying on the motherfucker not only to have the US collapse on itself but also dismantle the embargoes and subpoenas aimed against them.

Country goes down, they'll have a field day. Interpol would also become toothless as transnational crimes are no longer pressurized.

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 37 points 1 week ago (3 children)

If ONLY there was SOME way to Have Known TRUMP would do Things like this during his SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT!

[–] kabe@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

The actual problem is far bigger than Trump; It's the corporate duopoly masquerading as a democracy that created the conditions necessary for the rise of Trump and the MAGA movement in the first place.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 19 points 1 week ago

It's bigger, still - the underlying problem is capitalism. Even if we reform the entire electoral system but remain capitalist the problem will reoccur.

[–] TheProtagonist@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Trump is only the puppet of some ultra-right-wing forces behind him in cooperation with tech-oligarchs seeking to take over power.

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[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

This could be the most significant constitutional crisis in American history (outside the civil war lol) but the constitution is in fact very strong and that’s why America has 250 years of legal continuity

Imagine 200 more years of successful EU integration and that’s essentially what America is so there’s a 99% chance it’s not going to collapse or something

But it will be a difficult and desperate and deadly fight but do not fall for the doomerist propaganda everyone needs to get out and help in some way and especially vote because Republicans always lose when people simply go out and vote

[–] HumanOnEarth@lemmy.ca 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Dude they're literally saying the last Democrat wins were rigged, Trump is talking about nationalizing elections, Bannon wants ICE surrounding the polls.....

What are you smoking? If you don't want to do anything right now, fine. But don't insult people's intelligence by pretending anything resembling a normal election is going to happen. Not as long as they are in power.

[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Yet the democrats just won those elections anyway

You are literally smoking the doomerist propaganda

It’s not going to be normal but neither were the bomb threats in the last election so stop the hysteria it doesn’t help your own cause and it’s the exact reaction they’re hoping you have

[–] Denvil@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 week ago (5 children)

We should be fearful that this might happen, but it shouldn't be taken as a foregone conclusion. Something like that might happen, which only means we should be prepared for it

Going to happen. The president is calling for his party to take over and "nationalize" the voting system and bannon is planning to have ice surrounding polls.

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[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Democrats are part of the problem. They did nothing to prevent fascism, they only furthered it. They serve the same elite pedophile ruling class. Come on, we need everyone together to realize this so we can stop them.

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[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Eh, I give the US a solid 40% chance that it won't collapse within the next 50 years.

[–] CptOblivius@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

We will likely not have access to fair elections anymore. Our country is broken.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Yup.

We're becoming Russia 2.0 and there's a pretty slim chance of that not happening.

America was warned. America chose not to listen.

Actual fascists are in control of our federal government and under no circumstances do fascists allow fair elections. We're most likely cooked unless something extreme happens.

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[–] Furbag@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

The time to be concerned about the direction of the political system was November of 2024.

It's quite literally too late to do anything about it now. If Trump wants to cancel elections, there will be much hand-wringing and finger-waggling while congress debates about the legality of such a thing in a committee to no avail and the courts slow-walk any kind of injunction that would preemptively prevent them from doing it before it actually mattered.

Why should any of us be surprised that the guy who tried to subvert democracy once before is brazenly and openly stating his desire to do so again? This result was so utterly predictable that I feel secondhand embarrassment for anybody just now getting anxious about the political system.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's not too late to do anything, but it's too late to do it through political channels.

[–] Furbag@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago
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[–] hector@lemmy.today 4 points 1 week ago

It's not just "the guy," it's the party. This has been thinly veiled since at least they stole the 2000 election. Right after they took that despite voter suppression, removing valid voters from rolls, understaffing democratic districts with defective machinery they may have sabotagaed on purpose,( ie not emptying the "hanging chads" from the container, the machine punched holes, didn't work when bin full.) They also physically threw away ballots from Broward and Miami-Dade. Then they shipped a violent mob in to Miami to shut down the vote count.

Other stuff too, but all while the democrats did nothing outside of court. In court they hired the most high powered respected lawyers they could, that's what they did in it's entirity. No speeches about Voters Decide Elections Not Courts! Thundering from a pulpit. No denunciations of the underhanded tactics, dangers to our way of life, the arrogance of the steal. The didn't ship in their own partisans to protect election workers, didn't organize any protests to speak of.

They just let their valid concerns be fillibustered by the republicans, that ran out the clock, and threatened violence, and the latter is what won over Ruth Bader Ginsburg that crossed over and sided with the conservatives allowing them to run out the clock with bush up 500 votes or whatever it was, despite valid votes many times greater than that not counted because of the hanging chads, the hole punches not removed completely because the trays were not emptied and whatever else. They didn't find the thrown out votes even as it was rumoured dumpsters were full of votes in some districts. There were a lot of votes that no reasonable person could argue shouldn't be counted, that were lawfully cast with no fault of voters, that weren't counted.

Ginsburg apparently crossed over after having been afraid of political violence, in general. So anwering the brooks brothers riots, even after the fact, could have changed everything. Organizing your own partisans to camp out with election officials, to protest, to call out anyone involved in the brooks brothers riots, could have prevented everything.

But they stole it, and right after started their Voter Integrity, Voter Fraud campaigns, accusing regular people of fake voting, and made laws demanding ID, demanding proofs of ID and citizenship and tools to remove voters from rolls before elections.

The president just commandeered the system, and made it so obvious in your face the democrats couldn't well ignore it during election season at least. But none of this ends with him. They will be stealing elections unless they are stopped. We had stopped them in 2021 but decided not to, so everyone gave up fighting because we were doomed.

[–] notwhoyouthink@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

We have every reason to be. Anyone who can volunteer, should.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Volunteer to do what? Outside of killing ICE, I'm not sure what to do.

[–] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 30 points 1 week ago

Local rapid response networks exist to help intimidate ICE whenever they appear. Local soup kitchens and other similar charitable organizations can use your help, as the people who are most often targeted by this administration are those who are already poor.

Go to local meetings any time someone proposes legislation that harms marginalized people, expands surveillance measures (e.g. ALPRs), or alters the favor of elections towards the far right, and make your voice heard. You can also comment on regulations.gov whenever certain legislation is put out, and your state legislature should have a way to contact your reps there, too. Our representatives aren't fully beholden to us, but they're known to cave under public pressure, and every little bit of pressure helps.

Donate to organizations that slow down the effort of the administration, like the ACLU, or more specific ones for any given issue (e.g. the FFRF for religion-related fascist policy prevention, the EFF and Fight For the Future for digital rights and surveillance, Climate Defiance for both climate and general political activism that disrupts bad politicians and billionaires where they live and work, the Internet Archive for archiving information the administration tries to take down, etc)

You can also just go to nearby protests. Check out 50501 and Mobilize for a lot of more common ones you can expect to find a lot of people at, but also just figure out other local groups in your area that might be holding events, marches, protests, boycotts, etc.

Speaking of that, boycott businesses that support the regime when you can. Boycott Here, BDS Movement, Boycott Citizens are all good resources, and there are always more targeted campaigns like QuitGPT.

Do mutual aid for your neighbors who need it, get a whistle you can use if ICE shows up near you (remember, 3 long blows is ICE nearby, long blows is ICE detaining. If you hear whistling from someone else, get out there, record, and use your own whistle to make sure others do the same!), canvass/phonebank for local candidates, or even candidates in other cities/states, to get local policies implemented to make your communities more safe. Progressive Victory is great for that. (though it does require you using Discord)

Outside of that, you can always show up to your local ICE facility and just generally be a nuisance. They hate that shit ;)

[–] notwhoyouthink@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago

Volunteer during the election (to your capacity), esp your local polling places. Volunteer in any way you feel the call to action.

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[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

I'm not sure "exceptionally anxious" is a sufficient enough term for an actual fascist takeover of our federal government.

I'd go with abject dread.

[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They have since 2001, at least. Diebold, who made the original computerized voting machines was owned by Dick Cheney.

[–] Almacca@aussie.zone 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Us non-American are also very anxious about America's political system. Y'all have too many bombs and not enough i.q. points.

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I can see how it’s scary for people. No one wants to believe that their state or country is a battleground. It’s easy to say hey you all got guns get civil warring from the outside. As a person where do you step in? Where’s the line?

  • When it affects your moral outrage?
  • When the politicians corruption and/or perverse behaviours are brazenly being displayed?
  • When it affects your disposable income?
  • When your fav barista disappears?
  • When you see your fellow citizen being executed on the street?

For most of the modern Western world I’m gonna say we are post third point. USA has demonstrated it ramps up quick and a vast majority are tolerating it.

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[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

You mean the one currently spiraling into "murdering citizens in the street"-level fascism?

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I'm past anxious, more like Im fairly at peace that my quality of life is going to plummet along with everyone elses' and worrying about making it through is a comical pursuit against terrible odds.

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Anxious? What? Nahhhhhhhhhh, that's wokeist cultural Marxist Disney Communist Transgender Libtard radical Left propaganda from the deep state, everything is going great, except for them damn illegals and drag queens indoctrinatin our kids!!!

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

These past 80 years sure have been dreadful.

Yep, each and every one of the 80 years since 2016.

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[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

National anxiety, the fear of an impending collapse. Aged like wine.

https://theonion.com/fbi-uncovers-al-qaeda-plot-to-just-sit-back-and-enjoy-c-1819576375/

[–] fermionsnotbosons@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago

It's about time the 'average American' started questioning what the fuck this system is doing. Many of us have only been trying to show them how messed up it is for the past 250 years or so.

Seriously though, it really is way more tense than I have ever seen it. The kinds of political conversations I am having with neighbors and coworkers are ones that I never would've imagined being able to have even 5 years ago.

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

About one-third of Americans rated politics and government as the top issue facing their nation.

TBH I expected more, that leaves 2 thirds that are unsure despite a ton of evidence. This is why trump got voted in. I’m not sure what more he can do before a good majority see the problem.

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[–] _Nico198X_@europe.pub 3 points 1 week ago

the whole system is antiquated and not representative. needs a complete overhaul.

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well, then so many of them shouldn't have voted for it.

[–] Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Will still vote Republican....

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