Americans Fear Trumpcare More Than Terrorism Now, Survey Finds

A survey on American Fears was conducted by the Chapman University for the fourth consecutive year. The list this year looks very different to the one released in 2016.

A study called "The Chapman University Survey of American Fears" has surveyed the fears of an average American citizen for the past four years. They sampled a random group of 1,207 adults from across the United States about "their level of fear about eighty different fears across a huge variety of topics ranging from crime, the government, the environment, disasters, personal anxieties, technology and many others," a report published by the Chapman University said.

A simple comparison to past studies shows very different kinds of fears as compared to the rankings from past years. Several fears like "terrorist attacks" and "terrorism" dropped out of the top 10. Terrorist attacks, which were ranked number 2 in 2016 was replaced by Trumpcare, for the number 2 spot in the 2017 survey.

The 2017 list is a clear reflection of the political unrest and uncertainty in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president. This has been cited as the main reason for the drastic change in major fears experienced by Americans in a single year according to a blog post on the university's website.

The top ten list also included North Korea using weapons. This is the first time this concern has made the list. This can be chalked up to the growing tensions between the two nations. The recent missile tests by North Korea that can allegedly reach the U.S. West Coast has added to growing worry among the general public about a possible third World War, which interestingly also made it to the top 10 for the first time.

Also, following other major issues that plagued the U.S. in the past year, pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes went from a lowly 21st place in 2016 all the way to third on the 2017 list. Environmental concerns never broke into the top 10 in previous surveys. The report attributes this spurt in concern about the environment to the recent decisions made by the Trump government like calling for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not enforce major pollution laws and firing important scientists of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board.

Also, the Trump government chose to withdraw the "Waters of the United States" act. This restricted the rivers that can be protected under the "Clean Water Act."

The list also shows misinformation among the public. The poll shows that climate change ranks lower than most other environmental issues as a source of concern and fear. The report says that this is "likely due to the perception that the effects of the warming oceans and atmosphere are remote, far in the future, and more likely to affect 'other people.'" The effect of climate change is still not widely felt across the nation.

Other interesting changes include “Random Mass Shootings” falling five places from 2016 to 35th place this year and “Devastating Tornado” falling from the 22nd place in 2016 to the 43rd in 2017.