"Clowns to the Left of me, jokers to the Right, here I am--;stuck in the middle with you."
That lyric, written some 45 years ago, has never resonated with me so strongly as it has the last 5 weeks, and especially during the two weeks of political party conventions.
There was an internet video going around a while ago that asked (and then dodged) the question "who is the average American." If there is, actually, a "middle" to be stuck in, that question sounds like a good starting place. So, I have compiled, as best I can, a statistical portrait of the average American. Note, (with apologies to research fellows and statisticians) in some cases, this is actually more like a "median American", but we'll just have to make due with that, for now.
The "average" American is a white woman in her mid- to late-30s. Though it's close: according to the World Bank, in 2015, 50.4% of Americans are female, and, according to the census, the median age in America is 36.8.
The average American may or may not be married --; in 2015, the percentage of single adults was 50.2, a record high. And, yes, just to be precise, the marriage is between a man and a woman. The average American, if you start from the mid-30's woman, has one child, who goes to a public school. And, by the way, the average American thinks the public schools as a whole do a poor job educating our children, but thinks that their particular school does a pretty good job. Don't try to reconcile those --; you'll just give yourself a headache.
The average American believes in God, and believes in Jesus Christ, but probably doesn't go to church every, or even most, Sundays. The average American likes Christmas displays, likes saying "Merry Christmas," but would never imagine forcing someone to worship with them or as they do.
The average American has a job that takes up 34 hours of every week, for an average salary of almost $29,000. That said, average household income is over $53,000, which means that the average household is probably a two-income household. Also interesting is that two generations ago, the average American was in the middle class, but not so much today --; in 1971, according to Pew, 61 percent of Americans were in the middle class; in 2015, just less than 50 percent were middle class, while both the upper class and the lower class have grown substantially larger.
The average American thinks it's important that we do more to control our borders vis-a-vis illegal immigration --; though they think a fence is unrealistic --; but also think that illegal immigrants already in the country should have some way to earn citizenship over time.
The average American thinks that terrorism in general, and ISIS in particular, still represents a threat to America. The average American also thinks that our military response has not been aggressive enough, that the President's handling of terrorism has not been good, and that maybe ground troops should be committed to the fight against ISIS.
I paint this portrait of the "average" American because the barrage of campaigning is about to commence, and, with very little deviation, nobody will be talking to the average American. And I'm not saying that every issue and every decision should be made for and because of the average American; however, shouldn't every decision at least take them into account? Just, at least, y'know, acknowledge who they actually are?
If you feel like you've become the "Forgotten Woman or Man" in the equation of American politics, then welcome to the club. We have jackets.
But remember this, two months, two years, or four years from now at the ballot box: Abraham Lincoln, the "average" extremist, emerged from the ashes of a failed two-party system. It may be worth reminding your local politician of that fact in the near future.
Michael Alcorn is a teacher and writer who lives in Arvada with his wife and three children. His novels are available at MichaelJAlcorn.com
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Lets-look-at-the-average-American,234403?branding=15
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