Just 36% of Young People are Proud to Be American

 Disheartening but not unexpected news from a new Issues and Insights poll of Americans.  Just over a third of 18-24 year-olds say that they are very or extremely proud to be American.  That compares to 68 percent for the country as a whole.   

So, which is the one – and only one – demographic group in the I&I/TIPP poll that is not proud to be American? It’s young people age 18 to 24.

The poll found that only 36% of this group say they are very or extremely proud, making it the sole demographic group tracked among whom pride falls below 50%. The poll found an almost identical share of the 18-24 crowd (35%) say that they are only slightly or not proud at all to be an American.

Is this youthful rebellion? The result of years of indoctrination by a leftist education system? Is it due to the young’s susceptibility to the siren song of socialism?  Whatever the case, this strong anti-American sentiment appears to dissipate with age.

Pride in America rises to 59% for those 25-44; 75% for those 45-64; and 86% for those 65 and over.  

Still, the findings are worrisome, and they are a reminder of Ronald Reagan’s observation that: 

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

An upside is that 25-44 year olds are much more proud of this country than 18-24 year olds.  Perhaps this reflects that the further one gets from the left-wing indoctrination of the American education system the better one feels about our country.   

Liberals too are less proud of this country than conservatives.  That's a shame as liberals are the ones in charge of most American institutions--academia, K-12 education, administrative government, Hollywood and the culture.  As a result, our country is being run by people who really don't like it very much.  That's a problem.