Americans Sad, Confident, Proud [balance]

Americans Sad, Confident, Proud

War News Leaves Us Conflicted, Worried

Written by Jeanie Lerche Davis

March 27, 2003 -- Americans have conflicted emotions about war news. While relatively few have publicly expressed their views through demonstrations -- either for or against the war -- many are reacting in more private and personal ways, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll, based on telephone interviews with 1,020 Americans over age 18, is the latest comparing Americans' reaction to the war news from Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

According to the poll, large majorities of Americans say that as a result of the war with Iraq, they feel confident yet sad, and proud. But the polls shows that Americans' emotions are quickly changing -- at least between March 17 and this past weekend.

  • 75% felt confident this past weekend, up from 52% 10 days ago.
  • The percentage of Americans who said they were afraid has fallen -- from 48% to 26% this past weekend.
  • But the percentage of people expressing sadness has risen -- from 63% to 71%.
  • Overall, 61% said they felt pride. No March 17 comparison numbers were available.

The number of people expressing sadness and fear was higher after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the poll shows.

Although Americans are less focused on war news than in 1991, according to the poll, the situation overseas is still having a great impact on our emotions.

  • More than half had stayed up later at night, or had gotten up earlier in the morning, to follow war news.
  • Just over 50% had prayed more than they usually do.
  • Close to 30% found themselves crying.

The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3%.

SOURCE: The Gallup Organization.

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