Americans’ Pride in U.S. Hits Lowest Point Since 2001

As Americans prep the fireworks, barbecues and parades this Fourth of July, our pride in the U.S. has dropped to an all-time low—or at least since Gallup started tracking this statistic in 2001.

According to a Gallup poll published Tuesday, only 70% of U.S. adults say they’re proud to be Americans with fewer than half, 45%, saying they’re “extremely” proud to be Americans. This marks the second year in a row that number’s fallen below the majority level.

Registered Democrats lag especially far behind Republicans in expressing extreme American pride. Only 22% of Democrats are extremely proud, down a whopping 10 percentage points since last year.

The number of Democrats extremely proud to be American was cut in half after President Trump’s 2016 election and has been falling since. Go figure.

With the concentration camps at the border, rampant racism, meager hate crime laws and the fact that we’re turning a blind eye to the end of the world, i.e., climate change, it’s no wonder Americans are feeling differently about their patriotism.

Women, liberals and younger adults all express lower levels of extreme American pride, per Gallup, as well. No surprise there. We do have our student loans and, you know, sexism to deal with.

Republicans, on the other hand, express more extreme pride, as usual. This year, 76% answered with “extreme pride,” falling 10 points below 2003’s record high. It’s worth noting that Republicans’ extreme pride is relatively steady, never falling below 68%, even when Obama was in office.

Among independents, 41% are “extremely proud” to be Americans, yet another low. While the group has had historically less American pride than their Republican counterparts, their level is still higher than that of Democrats.

The highest readings on the measure, of 69% and 70% of Americans with extreme pride, came on the heels of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a time during which Americans rallied around the government and a spurred sense of patriotism.

But the pride Americans have varies wildly across different categories. Almost all (91%) of respondents are proud of American scientific achievements, and 89% are proud of the military. Majorities at 85%, 75%, 73% and 72% express pride in American culture and arts, economic achievements, sporting wins, and diversity in race, ethnicity and religion, respectively.

On the other end of the spectrum, only 32% of Americans are proud of our political system, and 37% are proud of our health and welfare system.

The bottom line? Gallup says record-low American patriotism is likely yet another casualty of an increasingly polarized political sphere.

For the second time in nearly two decades, less than half of U.S. adults are extremely proud to be Americans, shirking the stereotype of the aggressively patriotic, flag-waving American.

And while neither party is proud of the U.S. political system right now, politics seems to be affecting Democrats’ American pride more intensely than Republicans.

We guess this Fourth of July there may be more political alienation and dread than rallying under the flag. But on the plus side, there are still achievements from scientific discoveries to basketball wins that we can all get behind.

Check out the full Gallup breakdown here.