Show t Americans sow seeds of hope As America heads into its it's third century opinion surveys indicate there is a healthy degree of optimism among its it's citizens Potomac Associates a Washington based research organization for example example example ex ex- ample has nas just issued results o of such sucha a survey in a booklet entitled Americas Americas Americas Am erica's Hopes and Fears Fears 1976 1976 Survey Survey Survey Sur Sur- vey information was gathered earlier this year for Potomac Associates by bythe bythe the Gallup Poll Respondents to the survey were asked asked ask- ask ed ed to rate their personal lives past present and future o on a ascale a scale of 1 1 to 10 with 10 being the l best est possible possible possible ble life for them The average respondent respond- respond ent rated his I life e currently at 67 five years ago at 57 and estimated that five years years' fr from m now it will be beat at 77 on the scale In other words most citizens believe their life today oday is better better better bet bet- ter than it was five years ago and that it will get better yet in the coming years Citizens however were more restrained restrained restrained res res- res- res trained in a similar rating of their country They said it stands today at 55 on the scale was 60 five years ago and will be at 61 five years from now The anticipated gain notes Potomac Associates is 0 only y great enough to bring the nation back essentially to to where it was five years ago Over a year ten-year period in other words no net improvement is expected by Americans At any rate while Americans feel we have lost ground in recent years they also believe the country will im im- im- im prove The persistent and deep contrast between hopes for themselves and hopes for their country suggests a people not fully at peace with them them- selves Individual citizens feel their lives are not in harmony with the national I life e. e This condition cries out for leader leader- ship Will President-elect President Jimmy Carter provide that leadership Only time can tell |