A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center suggests that the U.S. has taken a sharp turn toward isolationism.
In the midst of a struggling economy, roughly 49 percent of participants said that the U.S. should "mind its own business internationally" and let other countries fend for themselves as best as they can.
The non-partisan research center has conducted a similar poll for the last 45 years and there has never been a plurality of voters who favored isolationism before.
However, the rate has steadily been rising. For example, in 2005, approximately 42 percent of respondents said that the U.S. should "mind its own business" in regards to international affairs, up from 30 percent in 2002.
Pew Research Center president Andrew Kohut said that the poor economy was most responsible for the America’s isolationist attitude and that the public was "displeased with the two wars [that the U.S. is] waging in Iraq and Afghanistan," quoted by the Associated Press.
Last week, President Obama announced that he will be dispatching 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. The first batch of Marines will likely be deployed by the end of the year.