Can we agree on anything?
Critical Analysis
Gallup's annual rating of the honesty and ethics of various professions finds five of the 22 occupations rated this year at new lows in public esteem. While the majority of Americans continue to believe military officers have high ethics (61%), the score is down 10 percentage points since it was last measured, in 2017. TV reporters' ethics rating has fallen nine points to 14% over the same period, and judges' has declined five points to 38%. While down several points since 2020, the perceived ethics of clergy (36%) and grade-school teachers (64%) are just a point or two below their previous all-time lows. According to the data from the chart above, as of December 2021, what was the most highly regarded profession in the U.S. of A.?
According to the data from the chart above, as of December 2021, what was the most poorly regarded profession in the U.S. of A.?
According to the data from the chart above, as of December 2021, how positively regarded were members of Congress?
How would you personally rate the honesty and ethical standards of the professions listed in the chart above? By the way, 3% of people thought that nurses had low ethical standards. Please don’t be one of those people.
According to the data from the chart above, as of December 2021, how did local, state, and national politicians compare in terms of public perception of honesty and ethical standards ?
What is the main cause for the public’s negative images of politicians?
What is one consequence for the public’s negative images of politicians?
A person I know just left working for a small environmental non-profit to go work as a lobbyist for Reynolds American (think cigarettes: Newport, Camel, Pall Mall, Kent, Doral, Misty, Capri, and Natural American Spirit brands. Yuck!). At Reynolds American she will earn 3 times as much money, to start. According to Comparably, in 2021, the median salary for a lobbyist was $112,204, while the median salary for a nurse was $69,631. Why do you think the salaries between nurses and lobbyists are so different?
According to the data from the chart below*, in what way did people of different political party affiliation most agree on the integrity and ethics of American professions?
According to the data from the chart below*, what profession had the biggest gap in approval between Democrats and Republicans; and how do you explain that gap?
Learning Extension
Read the Gallup summary of its annual rating of the honesty and ethics of various professions.
Action Extension
Thank a nurse for their work. If you can’t find a nurse then thank one of the other highly rated professions from the list and share your experience of giving gratitude with your class.