For all of his accomplishments, Zogby doesn't get too full of himself when he recalls the reactions he has gotten in the past.

"When I told people that I was a pollster, I would actually get calls from people saying 'I have a sofa and some chairs that need some work,'" Zogby said.

Zogby brought his wit and insight to North Arkansas College's Durand Center on May 4 when he presented the 19th lecture in the John Paul Hammerschmidt Lecture Series.

Zogby spoke on the trends that he sees taking place in the country today.

According to Zogby, both those who like his work and those who hate his work keep coming back to one word - "optimist."

Zogby has found that 74 percent of those he's polled still believe the American dream is still alive for them. However, the concept of American dream is changing.

About 32 percent of those Zogby has polled describe themselves as material traditionalists, where owning a home, a business and other signs of success are important.

However, 33 percent now say the American dream is about spiritual fulfillment, "something larger than me," as Zogby put it. Calling themselves secular spiritualists, they say it's not about religion, but redefining priorities.

The secular spiritualists, Zogby went on to say, include the growing number of people who now work at jobs that pay less than one they had previously. It includes the nine million or so who have done well financially, but realize that their lives are not what they want them to be. They are part of an active and engaged simplification movement, Zogby said, which might include becoming more environmentally conscious.

It includes the baby-boomers, those who Zogby called "Woodstockers," a group in which he jokingly included himself.

"I was there (at Woodstock)," Zogby said. "When I told my three sons that, I lost the moral high ground. We redefined culture, politics, civil rights. It defined us. It was the ultimate in self-indulgent behavior."

Today's baby boomers will have no retirement, Zogby said. It's now "encore living."

"This is where a new mindset is starting. 'I want to teach. I want to mentor. I want to coach. I want to travel. I want to do,'" Zogby said.

At the other end of the age spectrum are the 18- to 30-year-olds, who Zogby called "America's first globals." His polling has found that 23 percent of that age group expects to live and work in a foreign capital at some point in their lives. When asked what America will look like in 20 years, most respond "Barack Obama."

"The United States is a leader," Zogby said of the view held by young people, "but we're a nation among nations. We need to work together."

To those in the 18-to-30 age group, Obama wasn't the first black guy to run for president, Zogby said. He was the first cool guy. He shares world views with the kids. He is the first global president.

According to Zogby, John McCain made a good choice in Sarah Palin for vice-president in the 2008 election. She brought home conservatives to McCain and the Republican party, he said. She stole Obama's thunder. She threw "red meat" to the conservatives, allowing McCain to be the problem-solving maverick. However, according to Zogby, McCain veered from that strategy.

Zogby thought that newspapers will survive ( "I don't know how many"). Blogs, he said, will survive and make newspapers better. Similarly, he thought brick-and-mortar colleges will survive, but online colleges will thrive, making the former even better.

Reflecting on the many changes to the economy and culture since the 1970s, Zogby said that changes need to be made in our culture today.

"Make changes or else. 'Or else' doesn't mean revolution, but people will give up," Zogby said. 

http://www.harrisondailytimes.com/articles/2009/05/11/news/doc4a085428d12de519326019.txt