Extreme Pride in Being American Remains Near Record Low

A new Gallup poll released just in time for the 4th of July leads with the eye-catching headline that extreme pride in being American is at a record low. As often is the case with sensational headline summaries like this, the true insight of the poll is buried further in the results. First of all, while Americans who report "extreme" pride is at a historic low, when combined with those who are "very proud" the number goes up to 67% of surveyed Americans.

More interesting, though, is how age factors into the answers. "Whereas 50% of U.S. adults aged 55 and older say they are extremely proud to be American, 40% of those aged 35 to 54 and 18% of 18- to 34-year-olds say the same." For 18–34-year-olds, even when combined with those who said they are "very proud" the number is far less than half. And these numbers don't even include teens aged 13 to 17 who are old enough to have a thoughtful perspective on the question but are not reflected in this or most other opinion polls.

Given the recent wave of conservative Supreme Court rulings and the tendency of young people to be more liberal than their elders, the generational trend is one that should concern older Americans. What happens when a disempowered generation low on national pride finally takes over?