Pride in being an American at an all-time low: poll

An American flag on a table.
An American flag on a table. Photo credit Getty Images
By , Audacy

A new poll has found that, among U.S. adults, pride in being an American is at a 21-year low, with only 38% of respondents saying they are “extremely proud” to be an American.

The Gallup poll was first held in 2001, and the response from respondents was its lowest since the poll first began, with the previous mark being 42%.

While the “extremely proud” group is at an all-time low, 27% of respondents are still “very proud,” 22% are “moderately proud,” 9% are “only a little,” and 4% are “not at all” proud.

The all-time low of extreme national pride comes while the nation wrestles with several challenges from pandemic fatigue, the SCOTUS abortion ruling, record-high inflation, mass shootings across the country, and other controversial events.

The poll was conducted from June 1 to 20, before the new gun legislation was passed and the SCOTUS rulings overturning Roe v. Wade and expanding of gun rights were released.

Gallup acknowledged that these events could have impacted how respondents view their level of pride in being an American, as its data showed that 55% of Americans support gun legislation and 58% support not overturning Roe v. Wade.

Still, with those two points not being a part of the poll, the numbers are far lower than previous averages for being extremely proud, which was 55% and 80% for extremely or very proud.

However, even with fewer U.S. adults being extremely proud to be American, the combined number between those extremely proud and those who are very proud is two points higher than in 2020.

Responses did depend on political parties, with Republicans and Independents at record lows, with only 58% of Republicans being extremely proud and 34% of Independents.

Responses from Democrats aren’t much better, with their extreme pride jumping from 22% in 2019 to 31% in 2021 and back to 26% this year.

Since 2013 all three political parties have seen double-digit declines, with the Democrats dropping the most, by almost 30 points.

But the majorities of each political party that are at least very proud included 84% of Republicans, 62% of Independents, and 52% of Democrats.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images