Changing Patterns of National Pride
We can see the loss of America’s future
by Mike Meyer ~ Honolulu ~ July 3, 2023
The Fourth of July survey on citizenship tells the tale. The first chart below from the Gallup survey shows how far the extreme price has fallen in just over twenty years.
It is important to remember that for political affiliation, the Republican listing is a clear minority, with Independents and Democrats combined as the majority. I would suggest that the growing gap between the Republicans and Independents/Democrats shows the increasing radicalization of the Republican party in America.
But, even with that radicalization, the overall downward trend is evident.
Viewed by age group and political affiliation, the problem is even more apparent.
Again, affiliated Republicans are a clear minority heavily weighted toward the old. The youth of the country see little to be seriously proud about.
Bottom Line
Although the percentage of U.S. adults who say they are extremely proud to be American remains near the record low, together with the share who are very proud, about two-thirds express national pride. Pride in one’s national identity continues to differ most sharply among partisans, with more Republicans than Democrats saying they are proud. However, age is nearly as important a factor, with younger adults in all party groups significantly less proud than older adults in each party. While Republican party identification may be associated with greater national pride, the fact that Republicans tend to be older than Democrats and independents also contributes to the party differences.
View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).
It is worth looking at the detailed data (see link above).
The most significant percentage for the 18–34 age group was “Moderately Proud” (31%). That is the future, and it is not bright.
What do we need to do?
From several years of increasingly depressed responses to the climate disaster and failing to act decisively while we have time, we must break the authoritarian deadlock on climate and economic decline.
Allowing an increasingly authoritarian minority to lock in disastrous policies for the nation and the planet is unacceptable, and these responses by age group indicate this.
What happens when we lose our youth from believing there is a future?
With a record-breaking heat dome over the American southwest and smoke from Canadian arboreal forest fires covering the northeast, allowing the ruling elite to maintain that there is no reason for drastic change is no longer viable.
I have adult grandchildren looking for places on this planet with some hope of survival, and America is not one.
I think most people are willing to give the 2024 election a chance, although the destruction of voting and human rights is critical in parts of the country under neofascist control, failure to change this in 2024 is not an option.
Over the next year, climate disaster escalation will require change, not denial. July 4th, 2024, could be explosive. If not, July 4th, 2025, will be.
Future Search and more is available at https://rlandok.substack.com/