Most young people are no longer proud to be Americans, poll finds
Most young people are no longer proud to be Americans, poll finds
Overall, 39% of U.S. adults say they are "extremely proud" to be American in the most recent poll.
Meanwhile, only 18% of those aged 18-34 said the same, compared to 40% of those aged 35-54 and 50% of those 55 and over.
18% is still too high. As Obama's pastor said, God damn America! Americans have very little to be proud of at this point.
The kids under 35 have only known post-911 snooping, bigotry, military adventurism, the 2008 mortgage crash, housing and education costing multiples of what previous generations paid (in adjusted dollars), COVID insanity, a political system that is completely inaccessible to them and utterly uncaring about their needs, and, finally, a climate being actively accelerated to disaster.
The wonder here shouldn’t be at their lack of patriotism. It should be at the fact that they aren’t setting fire to everything, murdering politicians, billionaires, and their lackeys, and generally grinding everything to a halt.
To any “patriot” who would tell these young folks to just leave the United States, I’d like to submit a preemptive YOU are the one’s who should be getting the fuck out. YOU are the ones who are un-American, YOU are the ones supporting a traitor to our country, and YOU are the ones fucking it up for everyone else by voting against not just your interests, but our interests as the not billionaire class. Hopefully, enough youth in this can be motivated to make us something to be proud of, rather than an embarrassment.
I'll also add a preemptive "I have no fucks to give" to anyone who wants to try and shame me for not playing nice with these "patriots". I definitely spend quite a bit of time trying to understand these people, but only in the hopes that a method to marginalize racists/traitors/bigots can be developed. You want to try to figure out how to "work with" these people, go right ahead. Not going to waste my time.
Signed: One pissed off veteran.
This might be a little controvercial in american politics community (not so much under europeans but even here it kind of is) but there is no right way to be proud of the place you are born in! You can be proud of partular parts of your system, your society or similar but not the location, that's always fucking stupid!
Americans have not had it hard in a long time. No world wars have been fought on our soil. The wars we have been in since WW2 have not been very popular. I grew up gen X and we pretty much thought the world was going to end and that the previous generations handed us a pile of shit.
The kids now days look at all of us like a bunch of hypocritical ass hats. If I was a kid watching the shit adults are doing and talking about now, I would not be proud either. I would be embarrassed. I am embarrassed of what we have/are becoming. A lot of older people sit around and bitch about the younger generation but we are the ones that raised them. We are the ones not taking care of business like we told them they should. We are the ones babbling nonsense, disrespecting the law, doing all the things we told our kids not to do. Why the hell should they listen, or be proud or form the same values as we may have? We are literally showing them that none of this matters and then turn around and blame them for telling us all to fuck off.
I think a lot of people are confusing "proud" with "glad". I'm in the 35-54 range and I don't think there's much to be proud of anymore. And frankly I'm closer to embarrassed than indifferent on the subject given the progress we've lost in the last decade or so. But am I glad to be an American?
Sure, I'm glad I wasn't born in Russia only to be a bullet sponge in an unjustifiable war.
I'm glad I wasn't born in Afghanistan with the Taliban oppression.
I'm glad I wasn't born in Syria during one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in modern history.
I'm glad I wasn't born to sift through cancerous e-waste or mine diamonds for a warlord in Africa.
I'm glad I wasn't born into North Korea (self explanatory)
So, while I'm glad I wasn't born under worse circumstances, I'm not proud that we're directly and indirectly responsible for many of those circumstances.
But, I also don't think it's an unsolvable problem. We could make America a place to be proud to be from, but that's a very long road from where we are right now and I fear that there's also a lot of potential to get worse if the tinderbox is mishandled.Well, y'know, we were an explicit apartheid state for 80% of our history, and were founded on the back of slavery and genocide so brutal it served as the blueprint for Nazi Germany... The more alarming part is that anyone is proud of our nation.
I'm 65 now. When I was a kid, I was relatively patriotic. Civil rights, moon landing, all that stuff. Now? Not so much. The US is still much better than many other countries but it's not the world leader that used to be.
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Good be proud of things you do, not how you were born.
I mean, gestures broadly
Being proud of a piece of land just because you happen to be born in it makes no sense, but it's specially nonsensical when that land belongs to the US.
It seems strange to me that people have pride in the circumstances of their birth, something which they have no control over. Most Americans became Americans by doing nothing more than sliding out of their mother's womb. It's one thing to be proud to be a citizen if you worked hard and took the citizenship test to earn it, or during certain times where citizenship actually matters like when doing one's civic duties such as voting or attending jury service, but the people who go around boasting about how proud they are to be American always seem so phony to me. What exactly are they proud of? Why are they proud of it? So bizarre.
This Gen Xer isn't either. I drank the Kool Aid so hard as a teen. I joined the army and learned how to fall out of perfectly good airplanes. Lost all of that after 9/11. It took me a few years but all the Bush regime lies and invading Iraq really brought it into focus for me.
I mean...
*gestures around at everything
I'm grateful for having been born here, but I can't find it within myself to be prideful over something that I had no control over such as the circumstances of my birth. I have a different concept of pride. I'm prideful for things that I've done such as reaching milestones, accomplishing goals, etc. I don't hate this country, but I definitely don't believe we're the best, but I definitely don't believe we're the worst. For what it's worth, it's my home and I plan on staying.
Having lived in America for a few years, and been going there to visit family often otherwise, I have a different perspective to offer than the other comments: I don't have to be proud of the government to have deep respect and admiration for the people I've met.
America is a big place. I've been to around 38 or 39 States, most passing through, though the one thing that stood out is the perseverance of the people.
I think you all should be proud in your general strive for not accepting things that are obviously wrong to you. There are disagreements, but at least you guys legitimately make effort to make things right as you feel things should be.There's uproar in the streets, yet it's evidence that people do not want to just sit around and do nothing. I've witnessed sincerely compassionate acts of kindness, in ways I'll never forget. I was homeless for a short while, in Arkansas, and there were people so fed up with the lack of government support, that they themselves just bought apartments, and converted them into soup kitchens where they could feed us. One man had a felony, he spent time in prison for being involved in someone else's demise, yet he did this and spoke his story, not to boast in any way but to hopefully inspire many of us to turn our lives around.
It's a shame the government situation is a bit muddled, although it is also a bit of a mess in the UK, though I just think you guys should be proud to be American in some ways, even if your government is trying to convince you otherwise with their dishonest policies.
I'm embarrassed to be American at this point... Republicans are literal fucking nazis, democrats continue catering to the whims of corporate lobbyist bribes, and corruption is everywhere. Nothing will change until the boomers start dying off ~2032, and that's assuming we can remain a democracy that long.
On a political and governmental level, I'm not proud at all personally. There is very little that our government did that I think should inspire the rest of the world to follow suit. Maybe stopping a few terrible things that it should have never been doing in the first place, but that's hardly anything to be proud of when it's long overdue and with still plenty of other bad things that it's starting or failing to stop.
But as far as the people who live here go, there are a lot of them that I am proud to know and be around. There are some great people here, and maybe they are partially influenced by some good deeds from the country's past, or at least the ideals it promoted. Not government leaders thag would affect things on a large scale, but genuinely good people who make things more bearable for those in their vicinity. Ironically some of them are in demographics that this country is not currently respecting or defending enough.
Like one from abroad old enough to remember the old idea of America as something to aspire to:
It's kind of like losing your older brother to a crippling drug addiction (almost literally). You know that he wasn't always perfect, but he was always there. Nowadays you are never sure how he will act, sometimes showing signs of how he used to be, but more often bring a disappointment.
Because it's not about the soil, it's about the bond with your people, your history, your culture. There's a good kind of national pride we don't have - the kind that says "look what we've built! Look how we trust each other, look how we all keep things clean together, look how even when we disagree we work towards the goals that matter"
We don't have much trust in our people, our history is short and brutal, and our culture is just bits and pieces of other cultures. We definitely don't have a national goal, we rarely even feel a part of our local community. Our greatest connection is to work, and they'll squeeze out everything they can then cut us loose in a heartbeat
And that all leaves people starving for an identity, which is very exploitable
I wonder why, could it have to do with these last few years that were batshit insane, with a leader that fits in terms of batshit insane?
There's a lot I love about America: the natural beauty, some of the people, access to a lot that most of the rest of the world doesn't have similar access to, but I've never bought into the "Proud to be an American" schtick. Our gov't can get fucked, regardless of who the President is. There's corruption that goes way beyond that office.
I lost the last bit of patriotism I had left after the Sandy Hook massacres & all our elected officials did jack shit. Murica is only #1 in white collar crime these days. Our politicians are paid off shills. Wall St is run by the absolute worst scum of the earth bc they know we do nothing to them no matter how many laws they break. SCOTUS is fucking worthless & the country is comprised of about ~35% of the world’s stupidest people.
We need a revolution. That is the ONLY solution at this point but because of all the stupid, we’d much rather fight amongst ourselves than get off our lazy butts and fight the real evils in this world. It’s sad times but I do hope I live long enough to watch it all burn down.
I'm 45, and my nationality is nothing to be proud of.
Extremely proud is a completely different category than "proud". Although I think the title still rings true without the "extremely" quantifier. Even those of us who are older and were proud of what our country represented when we were younger have seen through the lies and are pretty damned disappointed.
Nationalism is nothing to be proud of.
This seems like a pretty nebulous concept with a lot of wiggle room for interpretation.
Like, am I proud of having been born in the specific place I was and having the parents that I do? I ain't had shit to do with that. I'm American by accident. I'm no more proud of being American than I am of being 5'10": it's just a box I fit into, honestly somewhat uncomfortably. I'm proud of the work I do and the achievements I've... achieved, but nothing I've done would be impossible anywhere else. If anything, there are parts of the world where what I've achieved would have been easier to do and where my preferred lifestyle is more widely accepted (for context, this refers to that I don't like cars, don't own or want to own one, and choose to get around by bike and transit instead) (a friend of my dad's recently told him that I "need a European girlfriend" because "American women don't understand guys like him:" for the record, I've never met this woman).
Anyway, pointless rambling aside, America is just one country out of hundreds in the world, and I don't see why I should feel all nationalistic about having been born in it.
I still firmly believe that we are "as good or better off than" the majority of european countries... if you are in a non-coastal blue state... and have solid income and health insurance. And as the world further destabilizes: We'll be in an even better position due to resourced and food scarcity.
But there is no "pride" in being marginally ahead of the curve in the ongoing circling of the drain that the entire world is going around. And... I want to say we'll dip way below the average the next time we elect a fascist but... a decent number of european countries are doing their part too.
So yeah. We're all fucked. Woo...
Well, gee, I wonder why. Could it be that it's been a shitstorm of fuckery their entire lives? Nah, that can't be it....
I'm in the middle age bracket there and completely agree with them as do most of my similar aged peers.
no shit
Who could blame them?
I am proud of when the US, or anyone does good things. When that's not the case, why be proud?
Many young Americans lack experience outside the country, meaning they have a warped, likely from the internet, sense of what's right and wrong when compared to other parts of the world.
I'm proud to be an American, in the sense that I'd rather be here than many other parts of the world, even though I recognize there are issues requiring more attention and/or progress. Perhaps it helps that I view things under my own objective lens, gaining first hand experience in many cases, rather than sitting behind a screen and amping up my ignorance.
It's OK to disagree with me of course. Everyone has their reasons, whether pro or anti, but I'd personally question how much experience people younger than myself have in other parts of the world. Many Americans take things for granted with little understanding of how good they have it. Obviously not always the case, but traveling the world is eye opening and no amount of internet research can substitute those experiences.
It's hard to have true perspective on what it means to be an American with my limited travel. I've never been out of the country. I've been to most southern states, but live in the west coast now (much prefer it here) and am very aware of my bubble. It doesn't take interaction from people living in countries with free healthcare and great work reform to know that our shit is fucked, though. Proud - not yet. Determined to make this a better place - yes.
When I graduated college in the 2008 I read Richard Rorty's "Achieving Our Country" as we entered the recession and were dealing with the shame of Guantanamo, Iraq, and Bush era generally. During this time we also started to experience the rise of identity politics. I was glad I read this, because it helped me avoid the pitfall's of what Rorty criticized as the "New Left" iirc. This is contrast with the "Old Left" "Progressive Left" he identified it. The New Left focused on America's shame from which there is no redemption. The New Left equates patriotism with John Wayne style Chauvinism, American Exceptionalism, and belligerence. With identity politics, it seems even worsened that the new left cares about ideological purity and sin which prevents coalition type movements.
The old left Rorty championed takes a different view. For him, patriotism or love and pride of country that is abandoned by the new left is a harm to the country. The analogy he makes is that similar to how self love and self respect is a necessary condition for an individual to self improve themselves, love of country and national pride are a necessary condition to the betterment of a nation. The old left was more able to balance or reflect on criticism and shameful acts in our nations history, but through love of country and national pride work to improve it. The old left was also more willing to tolerate and cooperate with groups that did not have 100% alignment on views or experiences. The blue collar workers put there flesh and bones on the lines during strikes, but alliance with elites is what made these strikes publicized in the news and move the needle at a national policy and political conversation.
It's a shame that so many young people are finding it hard to balance that love of country with critical national self reflection. People I have very similar political views gawk or chastise me when I describe my sense of pride or love for the US. It's strange how simply loving one's country or taking pride in it is taboo in young leftist folks today, and that makes me somewhat fearful of the future.
Paywall likely, but this Atlantic article does a decent job capturing the gist of the book: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/advice-for-the-left-on-achieving-a-more-perfect-union/531054/
Here here.
Old people, too. Hell half my family has left the US since COVID hit. Crazy stuff.
I never got the point of civil pride. I was born and raised in a third world country, and people left and right were saying how proud they are to be from there. The fuck y’all proud of? Trash everywhere? Tourists getting scammed and harassed? Your own government making people “disappear”? Your president building unnecessary bridges and crippling the economy?
It always sounded so stupid honestly
Never have been. I got a bad taste of what nationalism was all about very young and only grew to despise everything unjust about this country and it's bullshit "we're the best!" stuff.
For the non Americans, surveys can have any result depending on who and where you interview of course.
So much like any poll numbers can easily be skewed. It sounds like the polling company attempts to ensure a balanced urban and rural selection and balance between states and DC (which is sort of an imaginary 51st state if you will)
Here is how the company said this poll was taken:
Gallup interviews U.S. adults aged 18 and older living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using a dual-frame design, which includes both landline and cellphone numbers. Gallup samples landline and cellphone numbers using random-digit-dial methods. Gallup purchases samples for this study from Survey Sampling International (SSI). Gallup chooses landline respondents at random within each household based on which member had the next birthday. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Gallup conducts interviews in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking.
Source:https://www.gallup.com/175307/gallup-poll-social-series-methodology.aspx
Older Gen Xers as well. Actually, can’t really remember ever being proud to be an American.
I am proud, but by no means "extremely" proud to be American. I think a lot of European countries have a chiller attitude when it comes to national pride. They do have it, but with a few exceptions, they're not too in-your-face about it. And they're much more willing to recognize their shortcomings.
In the US you get these "America is the best country on earth" morons, as well as "all the world's ills are caused by evil US" morons. They're both stupid.
So 500 different people surveyed yearly for the last 8 years totals 4,000 individuals. The article also has no mentions of location which would be a major big factor.
You can't apply a survey of 4,000 to a country of 329 Million. I learned this is fucking 10th grade psychology. I dislike misleading articles.
Yeah, I can't say I'm proud at this point, though I'm not devastated or embarrassed, either. I think I could be proud again, but we'd have to halt our military-industrial-complex and political elites from continuing to engage us in proxy wars, to start.
Like someone else said I'm greatful for where I was born and the circumstances I have. It's the need for continuous improvement that causes this.
There has been a great disdain for a 40 year live to work lifestyle in America for a century now that I think can be cured with using the land in a more efficient manner, and giving people more options than they have through monopoly companies today. China just said fuck it everyone's limited in video game time and you need to focus on studies.
The ideas I have are too large to be conveyed in some quick text post, but I see there still being room to innovate and also bring a brighter more sustainable, proud culture in USA out. It will take money time and resources, and the forming of a new mindset for continuous improvement rather than continuous consumption.
They shouldn't be. It's a shit country
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Young people are no longer majority whit e so that probably helps.
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To be fair, most young people aren't from the USA, so this tracks.
What I'm really curious about is how many young people are proud to be British. I myself never really felt any pride based on where I happened to be born, it was just a fluke of existence after all. There are great things about my country, but they're balanced out by bad things, which is true of most Western nations. We're alas, pretty imperfect beings.
This just in: “most young people are not Americans”
That's pathetic.
If you are so one dimensional to where you can't separate politics (which I am sure it a large part of this) with everything else, then that is a YOU problem. There are plenty of things that the US needs to fix, but show me one country that doesn't. The fact that young people are too lazy or too out of touch to understand that is pathetic.
Incredibly, people in USA are so self centered and egotistical that they forget that north America and south America and central America exists, and not only that, they seem to forget that we are all Americans. So this poll title is not only inexact, it's also showcasing a level of hypocrisy and self entitlement that was never thought to be possible.
You should be proud of being American.
Ain't nobody going to take that away from me. I can just as easily be proud of being American as I can admit we have many issues to fix, but the general trend in years to be an edgelord and shit all over the US is getting real old.
More proof FlyingSquid is nothing but a glowy.
18% still too high
For a person who makes automated bots to post shitty content (flyingsquid) You clearly have no principals, so according to what, makes it too high?