PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

As we head toward the end of one year and the start of another, various journalism outlets will be trying to characterize what we have been through during the last 12 months.

PEW Research beat many others to the challenge last week by summarizing what it called “20 striking findings” from 2020.

PEW Research knows that it is doing.

It is is a non-partisan “fact tank” that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.  It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. 

And a key distinction:  It does not take policy positions, a fact that helps to give its information credibility.

I receive frequent newsletters from PEW and the information I receive has helped in various ways, including by forming judgments in my recent role as a volunteer member of a committee formed by Common Cause to propose ways to increases a commitment to ethics in public life.

So, with that background, here is a list of the 20 striking trends from 2020:

#1/  Since the very beginning of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, Democrats have been far more likely than Republicans to see COVID-19 as a “major threat” to public health.

#2/ The pandemic had a dramatic effect on international travel: By April, around nine-tenths of the world’s population (91%) was living in a country with partially or fully closed borders.

#3/  For the first time since at least the Great Depression, a majority of young adults in the U.S. were living with their parents this year.

#4/  Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, the share of British adults with a favorable view of the EU rose to its highest level on record.

#5/  International views of China turned much more negative in 2020, with many people criticizing its handling of COVID-19. 

#6/  Around eight-in-ten registered voters in the U.S. (83%) said in the summer that it “really mattered” who won this year’s presidential election, the highest share in any presidential election year since at least 2000.

#7/  Trump’s approval rating has been more sharply divided along partisan lines than that of any president in the modern era of polling.

#8/  Amid widespread economic hardship caused by COVID-19, around four-in-ten U.S. adults said in August that they or someone in their household had been laid off, lost their job or taken a pay cut.

#9/  More than half of Americans personally know someone who has been hospitalized or died due to COVID-19.

#10/ A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say there is some kind of lesson or set of lessons for mankind to learn from the coronavirus outbreak, a ]nd about a third (35%) say these lessons were sent by God.

#11/ In several countries, the share of people with a favorable view of the U.S. fell in 2020 to its lowest point on record. 

#12/ Biden and Trump supporters say they fundamentally disagree with each other not just on political priorities, but on core American values.

#13/ Across a range of measures, Republicans are far more negative than Democrats in their assessments of the news media.

#14/ A small share of highly active Twitter users – most of whom are Democrats – produce the vast majority of tweets from U.S. adults.

#15/ Only around a quarter of U.S. Hispanics (23%) have heard of the term “Latinx,” and just 3% say they use it to describe themselves.

#16/ Around half of Americans (49%) say the Bible should have a great deal or some influence on the laws of the U.S., including 28% who say it should take precedence when it conflicts with the will of the people.

#17/ The Black Lives Matter movement drew widespread public support and online engagement following the police killing of George Floyd in May.

#18/ Amid calls to “defund the police,” only a quarter of Americans said in June that they favor a reduction in spending on policing in their area.

#19/ A growing share of Americans have heard of the group of conspiracy theories known as QAnon, and a substantial portion of Republicans who are aware of it say it is a good thing for the country.

#20/ In a year in which big tech companies faced growing scrutiny, nine-in-ten Republicans – and around six-in-ten Democrats (59%) – said it’s likely that social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints.

What does all this mean?  Well, perhaps obviously, the perceptions are in the eye of the beholder.  Mine are two-fold:

• The range of issues PEW Research deals with is, in and of itself, “striking.” From politics, to religion, to racism, PEW provides a lot of food for thought.

• That range also prompts many of us to reassess biases we have formed over months, if not years.  And that’s good for all of us to be challenged in that way.