“The times, they are a-changin.’”
Bob Dylan sang those prescient words in 1964, and while the baby boomer generation who once embraced that sentiment may now be the one shaking their collective fists at clouds, the statement is no less true in 2023.
It certainly bore out in a new Wall Street Journal poll that shows “traditional values” like patriotism, religion, and raising families are less important to younger generations.
When the publication first asked about the importance of patriotism back in 1998, about 70% of respondents called it very important. 25 years later, that number has dipped to 38%.
Religion saw a similar drop -- it was considered very important by 62% of respondents in 1998 but only 39% in 2023.
Community involvement was heavily valued just four years ago, sitting at 62% in 2019, but that number has cratered to 27% in the recent poll.
Just four years ago, tolerance of others was viewed as very important by 80% of respondents. That number has plummeted to 58%.
Raising children, considered very important by 59% of those polled in 1998, now sits at just 30%.
The only “value” that has actually gained ground, and rather significantly, is money, which was valued as very important by just 31% in 1998 has risen to 43%.
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