[guidance]

> 'If I thought most Americans were unhappy these days, my reaction to seeing this poll would be to question how my intuition went so wrong, not to look for ways the might be biased.'

Your comment reminds me of this anecdote:

> "What I've noticed from users is that a windows user will blame the computer every time even if it is their own mistake, and an apple user will blame themselves every time even if the hardware failed.

> "Apple users know they have the Fancy Name Brand that Cool People(TM) use, so they have multiple levels of psychological aversion to blaming it for anything. They would be less cool by extension. And the brand image doesn't place any value on being capable of using "regular" technology, so they take no hit to their hipster image by blaming themselves.

> "It is really the same as any other name brand item. If a person buys name brand jeans and they tear, they're going to blame themselves for not taking better care of something expensive. Another person who buys a different brand gets mad that it didn't last longer because they only tried to use it in the "normal" way. If they blame it for anything, even its own real failings, then they lose the snob value."

The interpretation of said anecdote as it applies to your situation is left as an exercise to the reader.