|
E-mail this page to a friend!
 Are
Senior Citizens the Real "Peaceniks"?
Pew study says historically and today senior
citizens don't like wars
Feb. 22, 2006 – Remember all those graphic images
of the "Peaceniks," demonstrating to stop the Vietnam war? Those images
failed to capture America's major opponents to that war – senior
citizens. It is older Americans, not young people, who typically show
the greatest wariness about using military force. This was evident
during the war in Vietnam and remains the case today, according to a new
analysis by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Two-Thirds Rate State of the Country as Poor
but Seniors Most Positive
According to new Harris Poll majorities believe
war in Iraq not going well and damaging the president
Jan. 27, 2006 – Less than a third (32%) of U.S.
adults believe the state of the country is "good," while 68 percent
believe it is "poor." But, this Harris Poll proceeding the President's
State of the Union address, shows once again, that senior citizens are
not as negative about most things as are younger adults. On almost all
issues dealing with military conflict, the economy and social actions
the seniors are the most positive. Exceptions are, interestingly, the
government's efforts to rebuild after Katrina and the efforts to make
taxes more fair, where boomers and seniors are the most negative.
Read more...
|
|
Pew surveys now show that roughly half of those in
every age group - except for those Baby Boomers ages 50 to 64 - believe
the decision to go to war in Iraq was right. The boomers have now become
the strongest voice saying it was a "wrong" decision. Until recently,
senior citizens were the least enthusiastic - last fall, for example,
just 39% of those ages 65 and over felt it was right to go to war, while
50% said it was wrong.
Other highlights:
 ● The generation gap in attitudes toward using
force in Iraq was greater in the months leading up to the war. A Pew
Research Center commentary analyzing data from August through September
of 2002 found solid majorities in every age cohort between 18 and 64 -
including 69% of those under age 30 - in favor of taking military action
in Iraq. But those in the oldest age cohort - ages 65 and older - were
considerably more wary of using force; just 51% were in favor while 31%
were opposed.
● On the eve of war in January 1991, young people
favored military action over giving sanctions more time by a 54% to 40%
margin. People age 50 and older were evenly divided (45% to 45%). It was
the older generation that worried most about U.S. forces sustaining high
numbers of casualties.
● In the 1990s, the use of U.S. troops for
peacekeeping missions divided generations. Times-Mirror Center surveys
conducted in 1994 posited potential scenarios in which U.S. forces might
be used. In every situation, Americans ages 65 and older were far less
willing to support the deployment of U.S. ground forces.
● During the Vietnam War, Gallup surveys showed
that not only were older people less supportive of President Lyndon
Johnson's Vietnam policies early on, but they also were more likely to
say the United States made a mistake in sending troops to fight there.
In August 1965, just 41% of those ages 50 and older approved of
Johnson's handling of the Vietnam situation. Americans under age 30 were
far more positive toward Johnson's performance on Vietnam (56%
approval).
● Gallup surveys conducted between 1965 and 1973
show that over time people of all ages increasingly expressed the view
that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was a mistake, but the broadest
criticism always came from older generations. In August of 1965, people
ages 50 and older were already twice as likely as those under 30 (by a
29% to 15% margin) to say sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake.
● As U.S. forces were about to be completely
withdrawn, majorities in all age groups saw Vietnam as a mistake, but
younger people remained far less likely to take this view (53%) than
those age 50 and older (69%).
 ● Older Americans are more opposed to the use of
military force than those in other age groups, but most believe that, in
principle, the best way to ensure peace is through military strength
rather than effective diplomacy. Americans under age 30 generally favor
the opposite approach.
● Since 1987, the belief in military strength as
the best way to ensure peace has never fallen below 60% among those ages
65 and older, while on average only 44% of younger Americans subscribe
to that opinion.
 ● Despite their wariness of U.S. military action,
older Americans are more likely than those in younger age groups to hold
the view that "we should all be willing to fight for our country,
whether it is right or wrong." In August 2003, 64% of those over 65
supported this tenet, while barely half (51%) of those under age 30
agreed. This gap has persisted since the late 1980s.
● The caution that older Americans express on any
specific question about sending U.S. troops overseas belies their clear
sense that maintaining America's military strength and superpower status
is the best way to keep us - and the rest of the world - safe. The
youngest Americans generally prefer effective diplomacy over military
strength as the best way to foster peace - but are not notably opposed
to using military force in specific circumstances.
 ● These seeming paradoxes, however, have their
own internal logic. For example, it is not necessarily inconsistent to
insist that America remain the world's only superpower and to see
military strength as the best way to achieve peace, yet at the same time
to be exceedingly cautious about the application of military force - as
is the position of many older Americans.
About Source:
"Youth and War – Vietnam to Iraq, Generations
Disagree About the Use of Military Force" –
click to full report
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, February 21, 2006
Click here to Search SeniorJournal.com for more on
this subject
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
