A new poll from Gallup revealed that American adults’ pride in the United States has dropped to one of the lowest levels ever recorded as the divisive political and social landscape continues to isolate individuals within the population.
Gallup Poll Shows Declining National Pride
The latest Gallup polls revealed that only 41% of respondents are “extremely proud” of being American, while 26% identified themselves as “very proud” of their American identity.
Long-Term Decline in National Pride
While 67% of the country saying they are at least “very proud” of the country may still seem like a large portion of the population, this is actually part of a decline that has been ongoing since 2015.
Awareness of America’s Failures Grows
Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy Journalism and Citizenship, Margaret Taleve, feels the real issue isn’t a lack of pride but a larger awareness of America’s failures.
Pride Decline Peaked During COVID Pandemic
Unsurprisingly, the downward trend of American pride peaked in 2020 during the COVID pandemic when only 63% of respondents said they were extremely or very proud to be American.
Surge in Patriotism Post-9/11
While the national divide and frustration reached their lowest point in the wake of a global pandemic, we can compare the situation to America’s peak in pride after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Extreme Patriotism in Crisis Not Ideal
However, Steven Smith, a professor of political science at Yale, warned that this kind of extreme patriotism in the face of crisis is not ideal since national pride should be something we carry lightly in our everyday lives.
Patriotism Should Be Everyday Virtue
Smith told Gallup, “Patriotism can and should be what I call lowercase virtue, that is, a part of everyday life. It doesn’t necessarily require big crisis moments to come to the fore.”
Partisan Divide in National Pride
While pride in America dances near an all-time low, the issue is also very partisan, as someone’s political identity can be a major indicator of how proud they are to be an American.
Republicans Report Higher Levels of Pride
59% of Republicans report that they are extremely proud to be an American, while just 34% of Democrats say they have that same level of national pride.
Historical Trends Show Partisan Differences
Interestingly, this 25% difference in pride between parties is fairly consistent with historical trends where Democrats take a more skeptical and pessimistic view of America.
Democrats’ Pride Hit Record Low Post-Trump
At one point, the difference between Democrats’ and Republicans’ pride in being an American reached a 54-point difference in 2019 after Donald Trump was elected President.
Republican Pride Remains High, But Declining
While Republicans continue to show higher levels of pride than Democrats and Independents, they are still part of America’s larger decline in patriotism overall.
Republican Pride Near Record Low
59% of Republican respondents may have said they are extremely proud to be an American, but this is actually just one percentage point higher than the record low of 58% in 2022 after Trump lost office.
Community as a Source of National Pride
Alan Chavoya, director of outreach for the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, emphasized the importance of community in one’s national pride and that we should avoid letting it get wrapped up in government.
Coming Together as a Community
Chavoya said, “Being able to come together as a community to really fight for justice, the rare moments where we do get it, it does make me believe that certain things can function alright in this country.”
Pride Rooted in People, Not Government
Chavoya then concluded, “But that’s honestly less so pride in the government…it’s more so of the people that live here, the working class people, the people who are willing to really make things better.”
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