I am sitting in my living room. Immediately to my right is my dining room. In my dining room are, variously, a box holding my wedding gown…from 1988, a box of stuffed animals and a 3 foot tall Tigger, a remote control car still in the box (these even though my youngest son is a senior in high school), the cat carrier, two rolling footstools and two Cannondale road bikes. Of course I also have a dining room table, china cabinet, and 6 chairs. There are also 3 stacks of boxes, a bookcase and a settee that belonged to my grandmother.  Although I’ve rarely been accused of being neat, I’m not usually living in such chaos. It’s just that I’ve recently moved, downsized to be precise, and I’m trying to fit more than 20 years of family stuff into a house no bigger than the one I moved to just after wearing that wedding dress all those years ago. 

I am among those who are reducing their lifestyle. Why? Well, it’s a cost savings obviously; a smaller place will cost me less money monthly to light and heat. My monthly payment is lower and the maintenance is significantly less on a smaller home, so it’s less work. I’m headed for an empty nest as my youngest son graduates from high school so we no longer need as much room as we used to come the fall, so there’s that as well.

It feels like there’s more to it though. After a lifetime of always feeling as though I needed to have just a little more than enough-just in case, everything from extra towels and sheets to a back up bottle of laundry detergent and a pound of butter in the freezer, I’m now running leaner. We have very little storage space now, no extra closets, no garage and so we’re operating on just having what’s necessary, I’m letting go.

Is it part of the new economy? Yes, that’s some of it, and I’m not alone. On a recent Zogby Interactive survey 29% of Americans report they are driving less as a result of the recession, 5% have downsized their home, 19% are bringing their lunch, 38% have reduced or eliminated going out to dinner, 19% are renting movies, and 34% have changed their travel plans.

So, yes, for myself and plenty others, that’s part of it, but there’s something else I’ve found, it’s freeing to have less. I have less to be responsible for. I donated, sold or gave away plenty, and threw out a fair amount of just plain junk that we’ve carried from house to house over the years. And the result is that I feel better. There’s less to be responsible for, fewer things to maintain, fewer moving parts, and fewer broken ones.

Will I continue to live a smaller life? Have less of a footprint here on earth? Yes, I think I will. Will you? Are you now? Did you always live a sparse lifestyle and you’re glad to see so many of us are catching up? Anyone want to buy a “vintage” wedding gown?

Karen Scott is Managing Editor and co-Director of Project Management at Zogby International. She has two sons, one is a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University (We Are-Penn State!) and one, as mentioned above is a senior in high school. Her life has been full of surprises, among them are the fact that her wedding dress (pictured here) lasted longer than the marriage did, and while she knew she was a (young)  Woodstocker, upon further examination, it seems as though she might have become a Secular Spiritualist while no one was looking.

ZogbyFeaturedContributor Uncategorized animals, economy, international, lifestyle, marriage, media, recession, travel, work, zogby

According to a news article at CNN’s website, the campaign to overturn Maine’s new gay-marriage law is heating up within the Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is now asking parishioners for donations to fight against the state’s same-sex marriage law passed last spring.  Voters in Maine will decide on November 3^rd whether to repeal the marriage equality law or not.

In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their beliefs on gay marriage. A slight majority of the sample (57%) strongly or somewhat agrees that marriage should only be between one man and one woman, while more than one-third (39%) of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that the institution of marriage should adapt to a changing society.

Subgroup analyses show that 66% of Christians (including both Catholics and Protestants) are against same-sex marriage, compared to 23% of the respondents with no religious affiliations. Among Christians who attend religious services more than once a week, 88% are against same-sex marriage, compared to 55% of Christians who rarely or never attend religious services.

What is your opinion on same-sex marriage? Do you think that same-sex relationships should be recognized legally as equal to heterosexual relationships? Do you think that a different name other than marriage, such as civil union, can be divisive and counterproductive, as some gay marriage activists suggest?

Grace politics marriage, zogby

Election Day 2008 appeared to deliver a serious blow to gay marriage advocates when California passed Proposition 8 banning same sex marriage. Now, five months later, momentum is clearly with gay rights advocates.

Yesterday (May 6), Maine became the latest state to approve gay marriage when Gov. John  Baldacci signed legislation. Same sex marriage is legal in Maine, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Massachusetts. New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York may be next to pass similar legislation. Californians are expected to  have another chance to vote on the issue in 2010.

Recent polls also show opinion moving toward acceptance of gay marriage. A CBS News-New York Times poll  released on April 27 showed 42 percent surveyed believe gay couples should be allowed to legally marry, 25 percent supported civil unions, and only 28 percent said there should be no recognition at all.  Then, an ABC News-Washington Post poll released April 30 showed 49 percent surveyed believe same-sex marriages should be legal, and 46 percent said illegal.

The Los Angeles Times talked to advocates from both sides:

“There is no doubt we are witnessing an enormous and unprecedented sea change in both public opinion and momentum on the issue of marriage equality,” said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “I believe the electorate nationally and in California is in a different place when it comes to marriage equality than it was six months ago.”

Frank Schubert, who ran the Yes on 8 campaign in California, said the decisions in New England and Iowa gave same-sex marriage activists a boost. But Schubert said the battle is far from over: Voters in Iowa and Maine might overturn those decisions. And helping to persuade them might be none other than Schubert himself, who is advising a national group on how to copy California’s defeat of same-sex marriage.

Has support and legal precedent for same sex marriage reached a critical mass? Will more and more states make it legal? Or are we seeing a surge for one side in the debate that will be offset by increased energy from opponents of same sex marriage?

Paul Uncategorized, culture, lifestyles, politics marriage, Obama, polls, war

Last week, we posted about our marital status question asked on all Zogby surveys. Specifically, we looked at the rationale for counting a small number of widowed respondents as part of a larger category including divorced, separated, and widowed respondents.   Although we know widowed respondents have a different situation than divorced and separated respondents, we worried that the small number of widowed respondents would mean that we ultimately wouldn’t be able to analyze data in this category.

One of the post’s comments suggested that we offer widowed as a separate option to survey-takers but combine the responses after the survey is completed. Well, we listened, and that’s what we’re going to do. Starting soon, the new Zogby question on marital status  will have answer options of single, married, divorced/separated, widowed,  and civil union/domestic partnership. We may still aggregate the divorced/separated and widowed responses after the survey if there are not enough responses in the widowed category, but we hope that this change in answer options allows widowed respondents to feel like their voices are  being heard.

As always, thanks for your feedback and interest in making Zogby surveys better!

Katy lifestyles, methodology lifestyles, marriage, methodology, zogby

Whether it’s through our blog or elsewhere, we at Zogby always welcome feedback on our polls, questions, and  commentary. In addition to letting us know how people feel at a level deeper than a multiple-choice response, feedback from our survey respondents helps  us make sure we’re asking questions in the most useful way possible.

One comment we sometimes hear is that we should have more answer options when we ask about people’s marital situations. We give four answer choices for this question – married, single and never married, civil union/domestic partnership, and divorced/separated/widowed.  Specifically, some widowed people feel that it is unfair to count them in the same group as divorced people and separated people. Here’s a typical example:

“I cringe every time I’m asked married status as you lump widowed persons with divorced and separated. I was widowed after 48 years and 10 months and I don’t think this gives an accurate picture of a widowed person.”
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Katy lifestyles, methodology elections, ideology, marriage, media, methodology, Obama, politics, polls, war, zogby

While it is possible some young people in countries like China and Russia may revert back to some protectionist policies and many could latch on to ultra-nationalist attitudes — especially in the face of recent U.S. policies — it doesn’t seem likely in the case of America’s First Global Citizens (i.e. those born in the U.S. between 1979 and 1990) will be bitten by that bug. Despite the culture wars over evolution and creation, a “my country, right or wrong” tradition of American Exceptionalism, and a dismal short-term financial future,  more and more of them are becoming estranged from these traditional mindsets.

But what makes Zogby International so sure that this age group in America won’t experience a backlash of nationalist attitudes, as seen among youth in burgeoning super-powers like China and Russia, anxious to flex their own education and consumer power?  It is clear from our data that First Globals are more exposed to a range of ideas, cultures, and enabling technologies pushing them to a more planetary worldview and a greater appreciation of diversity.

This phenomenon of Global Citizenship is not only being experienced in the U.S. Tomas Etzler, a Czech journalist reporting in China, states that the youth in China have an interest in material goods from the West, a factor that can indeed create a counterforce against their desire to see China as the dominant world power. And in various capitals throughout Europe, you can meet Russian students who strive to speak with an English accent.

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Jeremy Uncategorized culture, education, evolution, first globals, future, Generations, international, marriage, music, Obama, sports, war, work, zogby