MUM'S THE WORD.

• Author: Ekins, Emily
• Position: POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

"Self-censorship is widespread. ... Staunch liberals are the only group who feel they can say what they believe...." SELF-CENSORSHIP is on the rise in the U.S., according to a national survey by the Cato Institute. Some 62% of Americans say the political climate these days prevents them from saying things they believe because others might find them offensive. In 2017, 58% of Americans agreed with this statement. These fears cross partisan lines. Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all agree they have political opinions they are afraid to share.

Strong liberals stand out, however, as the only political group who feel they can express themselves. Fifty-eight percent indicate they can say what they believe. However, centrist liberals feel differently. A slim majority (52%) of liberals say they have to self-censor, as do 64% of moderates, and 77% of conservatives. This demonstrates that political expression is an issue that divides the Democratic coalition between centrist Democrats and their left flank.

What has changed? In 2017,54% of centrist liberals felt confident they could express thenviews. Today, however, 48% feel me same. The share who think they cannot be open increased from 45% in 2017 to 52% today. In fact, there have been shifts across the board, where more people among all political groups profess to walking on eggshells.

Although staunch liberals are the only group who feel they can say what they believe, the share who believe they are pressured to self-censor rose from 30% in 2017 to 42% in 2020. The share of moderates who self-censor increased from 57% to 64%, and the share of conservatives rose from 70% to 77%. Strong conservatives are the only group with little change. They are about as likely now (77%) to say they hold back their views as in 2017 (76%).

Self-censorship is widespread across demographic groups as well. Nearly two-thirds of Latino Americans (65%) and white Americans (64%) and nearly half of African-Americans (49%) have political views they are afraid to share. Majorities of men (65%) and women (59%), people with incomes over $100,000 (60%) and people with incomes less than $20,000 (58%), people under 35 (55%) and over 65 (66%), religious (71 %) and nonreligious (56%) all agree that the political climate prevents them from expressing their true beliefs.

The survey also found that many Americans think a person's private political donations should impact their employment. Twenty-two percent...