Americans have grown less proud of their country’s history and the way its democracy works over the past decade, according to a new AP-NORC poll. The poll found that Americans’ pride in the US on several key attributes has dropped since 2017, including the nation’s military and its political influence around the globe.

Pride in Democracy and Military

Americans’ pride in the way democracy works in the US has declined 14 percentage points, falling from 42% in February 2017 to 28% now. Additionally, Americans’ pride in their armed forces has dropped 19 percentage points since 2017, and pride in the US’s history has declined 14 percentage points.

According to Gallup’s new poll, only 53% of US adults are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ proud to be an American, the lowest reading in the trend dating back to 2001. The findings point to a broad decline in patriotic sentiment over a tumultuous period that included most of President Donald Trump’s first term, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising inflation that contributed to a backlash against President Joe Biden.

Partisan Divide

Much of the falling positivity comes from Democrats, who have become increasingly disenchanted with the country since Trump’s first term. Only 14% of Democrats and 28% of independents say they are ‘extremely’ proud to be an American, compared with 70% of Republicans.

Republicans are especially likely to be proud of the nation’s armed forces, with about 9 in 10 Republicans saying the military makes them ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ proud, compared with about 6 in 10 US adults.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.