According to a new Gallup Poll, the number of people who identify as “extremely proud” Americans has fallen to a new low. Take a look:
New Low of 52% “Extremely Proud” to Be AmericansPRINCETON, N.J. — As the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, 52% of U.S. adults say they are “extremely proud” to be Americans, a new low in Gallup’s 16-year trend. Americans’ patriotism spiked after 9/11, peaking at 70% in 2003, but has declined since, including an eight-percentage-point drop in early 2005 and a five-point drop since 2013.
Americans’ declining patriotism is likely related to broader dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. In January 2004, when 69% were extremely proud to be an American, 55% of Americans were satisfied with the way things were going in the U.S. That was the last time satisfaction has been at the majority level, and the percentage satisfied has mostly held below 30% since 2007, including the 29% in Gallup’s most recent update.Americans’ patriotism stayed relatively flat from 2006 through 2013, a period that spanned the Great Recession and Barack Obama’s election and first term as president. But over the last three years, Americans’ willingness to say they are extremely proud to be an American has declined further.
Gallup notes that young people are one of the groups which has declined significantly in patriotism but that’s hardly a surprise considering what we’ve seen on college campuses in the last few years.
There are no surprises in these findings either:
Political liberals (36%) join young adults as the least patriotic major subgroup today. Independents, Democrats, nonwhites and college graduates also show below-average patriotism.Republicans (68%), conservatives (61%) and those aged 50 to 64 (64%) are the major subgroups most likely to say they are extremely proud to be Americans. Republicans, 50- to 64-year-olds and nonwhites are the only groups that are at least somewhat more patriotic today than before 9/11. As a result of Republicans’ still-elevated percentage, the 23-point Republican-Democratic gap in patriotism is now roughly double what it was in January 2001.
Prager University suggests that this poll means the left is winning:
Another way to interpret it is that the Obama era has depressed many Americans and shaken their faith in our leaders and institutions.
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