After hitting an all-time record low last year, a recent Gallup poll shows an increase in U.S. adults who take pride in being American.
The study, which was published on July 1, showed the combined number of “extremely proud” and “very proud” Americans at 69 percent, an increase from last year’s 63 percent.
Gallup categorized results on a scale of “extremely proud,” “very proud,” “moderately proud,” “only a little proud,” and “not proud at all.” Other data collected include political party, age, race, education, and ideology.
This year's results show side-by-side comparisons to the statistics of the last two years. The change in presidential administrations that took place during this time frame, as well as the worldwide Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, appear to have had an impact on some Americans' pride in their country.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the greatest uptick in national pride occurred among Democrats. In 2021, Gallup reported that 31 percent of Democrats felt “extremely proud” to be American. The percentage is identical for Democrats in 2021 who feel “very proud” to be an American. While this may seem like a low percentage, it’s actually a slight improvement from previous years.
Last year, 24 percent of Democrats felt “extremely proud” of their country, an increase from 2019’s paltry 22 percent. As far as Democrats who felt “very proud” to be an American in 2020 and 2019, those numbers were finalized at 18 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
While it’s good to see a boost in patriotism from Democrats, the logical conclusion to draw from these statistics is that Democrats feel a stronger sense of national pride when a president from their party is in office. And even then, it’s not much. Gallup explained this as well.
"Much of that decline in Democratic pride could have been related to their negative feelings about then-President Donald Trump and his domestic and international policies. However, even with a Democratic president in office, the 31% of Democrats who are extremely proud in 2021 is well below the 45% measured in 2016, the last year a Democrat was president."
The Gallup article acknowledges that Republicans have consistently reported being more patriotic than Democrats when asked the same question. Republicans, though, have seen a decline in those who feel “extremely proud,” of their country, falling from 76 percent in 2019, to 67 percent in 2020, to 64 percent in 2021. These numbers are still much higher —nearly double — than their Democratic counterparts, as noted above.
The statistics of Republicans who feel “very proud” of their country has steadily increased from 19 percent in 2019, 21 percent in 2020, and 23 percent in 2021. The difference from Democrats speaks volumes.
The article also noted that certain generations overwhelmingly display different responses to the question.
“Younger Americans are much less likely than their older peers to express pride in the country. Currently, half of Americans younger than age 35 are proud to be Americans, including 26% who are extremely proud. In contrast, more than seven in 10 Americans between the ages of 35 and 54, and eight in 10 Americans aged 55 and older, are proud.”
Gallup saw the highest peak in national pride in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with “at least nine in 10 Americans between 2002 and 2004 saying they were extremely or very proud, including roughly 70% who were extremely proud.” One wonders when America might see an overwhelming surge of national pride like that again, or if such pride is even possible.
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