60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll: June Edition

Welcome to the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll for June. June is known for the "longest day" both literally with the summer solstice and figuratively with the commemoration of one of the pivotal days of the 20th century: June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day.

It is when the school year ends and the graduation parties begin and it is also known for beautiful brides, weddings and celebrations of all kinds. Speaking of D-Day, the U.S. (Continental) Army was founded on June 14, 1775, by resolution of the Continental Congress. A ragtag group of patriots had recently surprised the British with a fierce fight at Bunker Hill. A day after the resolution, George Washington was named general and commander-in-chief and was sent to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take charge of the Army. Think of what that modest force had become on D-Day and think of what they still mean to the relative peace and stability of the world.

The third Sunday in June is Father's Day and dad has a lot to look forward to. Baseball is in high gear, and new champions will be crowned in the NHL, the NBA and in golf at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The fish will be biting everywhere, especially the stripers off of Wasque Point near Martha's Vineyard. June is a sportsman's dream, to all of our readers (especially those unsung dads): Enjoy!

And now the results of our poll...

Seventy-seven percent of Americans were able to complete Alexander Pope's famous quotation, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." Very few people guessed "inhuman" (seven percent), "mistaken" (five percent) or "impossible" (four percent). Humans are great at erring but not so great at forgiving. Maybe with a little humility, a dash of forbearance and some divine intervention, Pope's observation will become more and more prevalent.

So who has your best interests at heart? From a list that does not include the obvious choices, 29 percent chose their in-laws, but before you go and get all sentimental, that barely beat out their pets (27 percent). Employers (five percent), government (five percent) and landlords (! percent) got no respect (surprise!). But the big winner with 32 percent was "none of the above," indicating that Americans may have become a little more hardened or cynical in recent years.

If they could see us now...that old gang of ours...also known as our ancestors, let's face it they would be pretty shocked. Fifty-two percent of Americans said they would be most shocked by our manners, and if you've been out in the world lately who could blame them? Next up, with 14 percent, is the way we treat our children followed by what we eat (11 percent), the way we dress (10 percent) and what we do for fun (nine percent). The landed gentry of 1812 would surely be shocked by the coarsening of societal manners and the way many people indulge their children, but they might be amused at what we eat, how we dress or what we do for fun. If we were able to peer two centuries into the future what would we think?

Fifty-six percent of Americans feel that paparazzi photographers that hound celebrities to take pictures for money are intrusive and should get a real job. Thirty-nine percent think they're just trying to make a living. First, it is our obsession with celebrity that creates the perverse demand in the first place and second if there were more "real jobs" available perhaps some of those saps wouldn't have to do it for a living.

Fifty-three percent of Americans correctly identified the "Buffet Rule" as a proposal that Americans making over $1 million a year should pay more taxes. It was named for Warren Buffet who pays a lower or similar rate than his secretary and is being used to fuel a class warfare debate in Washington. (By the way, Mr. Buffet agrees he should pay more). Those Parrott Heads that were unfamiliar with Warren, but familiar with Jimmy Buffet guessed either "No Shirts, no shoes, no problem" (15 percent) or "It's always cocktail hour somewhere in the world" (five percent). Twelve percent thought it had to do with investment advice, and four percent thought that it meant, "You're not really on vacation unless you're more than a three-hour plane ride from home." Here's another Buffet rule, never eat from a "free buffet."

In a scene right out of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," if Americans had a chance to peek in on their own funerals, 51 percent would be most curious about what people have to say about them. Nineteen percent would wonder how many people showed up, 11 percent would look for surprise visitors and seven percent (the vain ones) would be curious about how they looked in the casket. It appears that our egos follow along with us even after death.

It appears that Americans are more apprehensive about their financial health than their medical health. Forty percent dread reading their retirement statement and another 15 percent want no part of reading their credit card statement. Twenty-four percent fear reading their medical report and only 14 percent worry about reading their kid's report card. People in their 40's, 50's and 60's are especially apprehensive about their retirement statements probably because reading them reminds them that they won't be retiring nearly as soon as they may have wanted or planned to.

This month's fantasy question asks Americans, if their life was a movie, what kind of a movie would it be? Everyone knows comedy is hard but 35 percent think their lives are a laugh riot. Twenty-two percent (more men than women) see themselves in an action/adventure and 19 percent chose the gritty realism of a low-budget indie to showcase their lives. Twelve percent fancy themselves at the center of a romance and a dour seven percent see their life as a tragedy. It's probably more like a Bergman movie that never ends.

Now here's a loaded question, only eight percent of Americans think the Republican Party has changed for the better in recent decades and a paltry 12 percent think the Democratic Party has. That's about the same amount of people who approve of the job that Congress is doing plus their relatives. The rest of Americans are fairly evenly divided between thinking that neither party has changed very much or that they have both changed for the worse. Can you remember your young self at your most idealistic and optimistic? Boy, we could we use a massive dose of that right about now.

Talk about the lesser of four evils, how about "all of the above"? Flying these days is bad enough without any of these delightful prospects. A third of Americans would least like to sit next to someone who is talkative and nosey. Thirty-one percent would look down their nose at someone who snores. Seventeen percent would cry over having to sit next to someone with an infant, and 14 percent say "fat chance" to sharing some of their extra space with someone that is very overweight.

A new National Anthem? Twenty-two percent of Americans would pick "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen to pen the National Reboot. Next up, Dolly Parton 19 percent, Stevie Wonder 18 percent, Bob Dylan 11 percent, John Williams 10 percent, Jay-Z eight percent and Madonna five percent. How about an all-star collaboration with John Williams composing the music, Stevie and Bob penning the lyrics, Bruce and Dolly on lead vocals and Jay-Z and Madonna backing them up. That's when America is at it's best -- when we join together in common purpose.

What position of authority would you feel most comfortable in? Thirty-six percent of Americans answered "judge." Is that due to the legacy of John Marshall or Judge Judy? The jury is still out. Twenty-six percent would feel comfortable as a school principal but only 12 percent would have the right stuff to be president. The thankless jobs of traffic cop and airport screener get only 11 percent and seven percent, respectively. And only three percent would feel comfortable as dictator. If it's true that "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," think of what must it must be like to be a dictator these days?

This poll was conducted at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 1,025 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone April 27-30, 2012. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard landline and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. Read more about this poll.