Two recent polls announcing the celebration of Independence Day shattered by yet another mass shooting show the United States with the lowest confidence in major institutions in history. I am.
Fewer citizens report being very proud of their country than at any point in the last two decades.
Together, these two surveys (both conducted by the Gallup organization) depict a country that appears to have lost credibility more broadly on its own, not just on a particular institution. ..
In the first survey released last week, we found that only 38% of respondents reported that they were "very proud" to be American. This is a 5% decrease from a year ago and a 20 percentage point decrease from 2009, when 58% said they were very proud. In 2003, that percentage reached 70%.
However, an additional 27% of current respondents reported that they were "very proud" of their country. In short, 65% of the respondents were very positive about being American. Still, that number has dropped significantly from past measurements. For example, in 2004, 91% of Americans reported being "very" or "very" proud of their citizenship.
Partisan Differences
According to Gallup data, Republicans consistently have a higher proportion of their feelings of extreme pride in their country than Democrats and independents. I am reporting. 58% of Republicans were extremely proud, 34% of independents were only 26% of Democrats, and so was the survey.
This year's poll Democrats were above the lowest level of 22% recorded in 2019. However, Republicans and independents have reported the lowest level of extreme pride in the 21 years that Gallup is asking questions.
In general, men are more likely to report that they are very or very proud to be American than women, with a difference of 72% to 60%. Responses were also significantly different between age groups. Eighty percent over the age of 55 report being very proud or very proud. The percentage between the ages of 35 and 54 was 64%. However, for people between the ages of 18 and 34, the total was only 48%.
Decline in confidence in institutions
Gallup on Monday is a year of American confidence in key social institutions such as the federal government, the military, schools, and businesses. Announced the next survey. And other major sectors of society. The news was not encouraging.
According to Gallup, polls have recorded "record low" confidence throughout society. In all 16 categories surveyed, 11 decreased sharply, 4 decreased moderately, and 1 remained unchanged. None of them gave me confidence.
The sharpest decline was in the decline in people who expressed "significant" or "significant" confidence in the president. This has dropped from the already low 38% last year to just 23% this year. The 15% decline is consistent with the decline seen in other polls in President Joe Biden's approval rate over the same period.
Supreme Court Confidence
The next big drop was the confidence felt in the Supreme Court. Last year, 36% of respondents said they were "quite" or "quite" confident in the High Court. This year it fell to 25%.
Polls are a series of controversial rulings by the Supreme Court, including the abolition of constitutional rights to abortion, the overturning and blocking of New York law that limits an individual's ability to carry hidden firearms. It was done before issuing. The Environmental Protection Agency prohibits taking some steps to regulate greenhouse gases.
It is difficult to estimate how much these judgments affected the court's rating. Because they were criticized by many on the political left, but also praised by many on the political right. Prior to the poll, a draft of the leaked Supreme Court abortion decision was published, which may also have an impact on the outcome.
Other agencies
Congress is still the least trusted by Americans, with 15% of institutions claiming high credibility last year. Has been reduced to a single digit. 2023.
This study also showed a decline in confidence in journalism organizations. The percentage of respondents who said they had high confidence in newspapers dropped from 21% last year to 16%. The situation on TV news got worse, with high confidence dropping from 16% to 11%.
The only institution that did not see any decline in public confidence was organized labor. But still, the news wasn't always good, with a confidence level of only 28%.
"Aged" politics
Gallup told VOA in an email, John Harpin, a senior researcher at the American Progress Center, a liberal think tank. The findings show a long-term trend.
"This is not just a recent phenomenon," he writes. "Americans conclude that many of the major institutions of American society are corrupt or corrupt and are unable to meet the country's biggest challenges: the 2008 financial crisis, the Iraq war, and the economics. And regional inequality, and the rise of radical politics, all contribute to a growing sense of institutional decline. ”
“ The dilapidated state of our politics ”. Harpin said it is the greatest driver of negative sentiment towards the country.
"Americans can mediate a consensus course for two major political parties to get us back on track and solve problems ranging from inequality and poverty to immigration and crime. I have little or no belief that, "he said. .. "One party comes in and does some things that make voters happy, but others get angry. Then the roles and emotions reverse and switch for a while."
Narrative competition
Ian Rowe, a senior researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, told VOA that he believed in much of the decline of the public. The sentiment about the United States is due to a dominant cultural story that focuses on the flaws of the country.
In recent years, he has stated: "There was a pretty strong drum beat that the country was inherently oppressive, based on race, gender, and other superficial characteristics, so I think the story is sacrificed."
To counter that tendency, he said. "Our people who have dissenting opinions really need to have the courage to say these things out loud. The American system is important and still important, to some extent self-improvement and self. Update tools are built into it. "
He added: All of this allowed the country to continue to improve. I think many of us need to face it.