'Total upheaval': Columnist wonders why Americans are united in 'deep chords of distrust'

A deep cynicism by Americans about how they view the government — and its future — has reached a boiling point, according to a new study that left a New York Times columnist grappling with the wrenching question of "Why?"

In a study conducted by researchers at three leading universities, respondents from all political backgrounds did not believe America's best days were ahead, and did not trust people in government.

What’s more, a quarter of Americans said the country needed “a total upheaval.”

New York Times writer Serge Schmemann wondered aloud in an op-ed published Wednesday why America has so much distrust, pessimism, and hatred bubbling up in its civil discourse.

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“There is far more parsing of what we Americans think and fear in the 89-page report, and sadly, it confirms what most of us have observed,” Schmemann told readers. “In the end, however, it leaves unanswered the wrenching question that we must answer if things are to improve: Why?”

The study divided respondents into five broad groups: the ‘classically liberal,’ the ‘mostly MAGA,’ and the ‘ambivalent.’ What it found was the majority of respondents agreed in their cynicism about the political system and the importance of the rule of law, constitutional liberties, and democracy to the American national identity.

The study concluded that when compared to earlier available data, the nation has grown far more pessimistic.

“In a sense, it is in the deep chords of distrust where Americans seem most united,” the authors of the report wrote in their introduction.

The findings from the study, conducted before the election by researchers at Louisiana State University, the University of Maryland and the University of Chicago, led Schmemann to believe that Donald Trump’s victory was not the surprise many found it to be.