Pandemic Lockdowns Made the World Ruder

If the world seems to you a little nastier and more confrontational than it was just a few years ago, you're not alone. Many Americans say the world is a ruder place than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health responses that closed too many businesses and schools, effectively confined some to their homes, and isolated large numbers of people. Unfortunately, both current evidence and history suggest we may be stuck with a coarser world for years to come.