Nearly Half of US Voters Consider Gov’t Threat to Rights, Freedom

About half the country thinks that the USA government is an “immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens”, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday.

In their last annual End of Year poll, researchers for WIN and Gallup global surveyed more than 66,000 people across 65 nations and found that 24 percent of all respondents answered that the United States “is the greatest threat to peace in the world today.” Pakistan and China fell significantly behind the United States on the poll, with 8 and 6 percent, respectively.

This number has edged upward each year since first asked in 2003 when only a third of Americans felt this way.

Meanwhile, only 32 percent of Democrats or independents that lean Democrat believe the federal government to be an immediate threat.

Among those agreeing, one in five was most concerned about the government becoming too big, too powerful, and having too many laws.

Its latest survey results are based on telephone interviews with 1,025 adults ages 18 or older conducted nationwide September 9-13.

Respondents to the poll cited specific complaints about freedom of speech and religion, the behavior of law enforcement agents, government surveillance of private citizens, the government’s involvement in gay marriage issues, and health care, as well as immigration, taxation and business regulation. Another common concern was that the government was showing favoritism towards the wealthy, or racial and ethnic minorities.

The survey also revealed that now Republicans are twice as likely to distrust the government as Democrats.

But, Gallup continue, Democrats who feel threatened by the government generally cite similar reasons as Republicans.

Twelve percent believe the federal government is violating firearms rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Clearly, there has been tension between the government and the people at many times in history since that point, and it may be that such tensions are a natural part of the system by which the people willingly give up power to government institutions that in turn intrude on their daily lives.