The Daily Note with James A. Brown · James A. Brown

Are We Really Surrounded by Bad People? A Deep Dive into America's Morality

March 14, 2026·42 min·3 clips

53% of American adults told Pew researchers their fellow citizens have bad morals—the only country out of 25 to reach that verdict.

1. The Daily Note with James A. Brown analyzes a Pew Research survey finding that 53% of American adults say their fellow citizens have bad morals. 2. James A. Brown is the sole host; he describes himself as a commentator who 'slows down the news' without taking partisan sides. 3. The episode's thesis is that Americans have been sold a distorted image of their neighbors' morality through social isolation and a profit-driven media machine. 4. Pew Research surveyed more than 30,000 people in 25 countries across every continent, asking whether fellow citizens have good or bad morals. 5. In 24 of 25 countries, the majority said their neighbors are morally good: Canada at 92%, Indonesia at 92%, Mexico at 80%, the UK at 82%, Germany in the 70s, and Israel at 68%. 6. The United States was the lone outlier, with 53% of American adults saying their neighbors have bad morals—not a slim plurality but a majority. 7. Brown stresses that Pew's question was a character judgment: not whether you disagree politically, but whether you believe the person in front of you at the grocery store is morally defective. 8. He notes this belief coexists with relying on those same people to teach children, fix cars, and deliver packages. 9. Against the 53% headline, Pew's nine specific behavior tests produce a different picture: only 23% of Americans call marijuana use morally wrong, placing the US among the world's most permissive. 10. Only 29% of Americans say gambling is morally wrong, a number Brown attributes partly to the proliferation of in-game sports betting apps. 11. However, 90% of Americans condemn marital affairs—near unanimous and higher than most other countries—which Brown connects to a cultural emphasis on singular family commitment. 12. Brown introduces the 'reshuffling' concept: Americans have spent the past two decades sorting themselves into politically homogeneous geographic pockets, with blue counties becoming bluer and red counties becoming redder. 13. Fewer Americans are married, fewer belong to churches, clubs, or leagues, and fewer know the name of their mechanic—leaving them without the lived experience that would contradict negative narratives about neighbors. 14. In the Pew data, 60% of Democratic-leaning Americans say their fellow citizens have bad morals versus 46% of Republican-leaning Americans. 15. Brown reports that Pew found the same out-of-power-party harshness pattern in more than half of the 25 surveyed countries, calling it 'chilling for democracy.' 16. He argues that media environments monetize the idea that political opponents are not just wrong but morally corrupt, and that isolated Americans lacked the counter-evidence to resist this framing. 17. Brown acknowledges real degradation in customer service and online discourse, but maintains these are not the whole picture and do not hold up against the behavioral cross-tabs. 18. He notes that 68% of Americans now say you do not need to believe in God to have good values—a record high—which he interprets as the thinning of a shared moral vocabulary. 19. The tone is analytical and measured; Brown positions himself as neither partisan nor ideologically aligned, though he expresses alarm about democratic fragility. 20. Listeners interested in social science data, political polarization, and American cultural fragmentation will find this episode directly relevant; those seeking partisan advocacy or hard news coverage should look elsewhere.

As heard by us

A plainspoken look at why Americans judge one another so harshly, even when they barely know each other.

This episode turns a Pew Research number into a plainspoken question about American life: do people really believe those around them are morally bad, or have they simply grown distant enough to judge that way? James A.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a neighbor-sized rethink of America's moral verdicts, press play.

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