A republic that survives 250 years has earned something rare in human history: reverence. From the musket smoke of Lexington to the moon landing. From the Constitution’s ratifying debates to the fall of the Berlin Wall. America’s story is one of imperfect people building an extraordinary nation. Every generation has been called to defend it — not just on battlefields, but in the hearts of its own citizens.

So what happens when a growing share of those citizens simply stop caring? When the most free and prosperous nation in recorded history can’t even inspire a majority of its own people to say they’re proud of it? The answer is sitting in the latest polling data, and it should unsettle every patriot reading this.

From The Post Millennial:

As America nears its 250th birthday, polling by Gallup finds that its citizens are growing less proud of their country.

According to a new Gallup poll, just 53 percent of all adults are “very” or “extremely” proud to be American, which is the lowest point dating back to 2001. The remaining share of adults in the poll said they were “moderately proud” (22 percent), “only a little proud” (15 percent), or “not proud at all” (9 percent).

Read that again. Barely half of American adults can muster strong patriotic sentiment toward their own country — the weakest showing in a quarter century of Gallup tracking. A companion AP-NORC survey deepens the wound: devotion to American democracy has cratered 14 points since 2017, attachment to the armed forces has dropped 19 points, and admiration for the nation’s history has slid 14 points.

Grim numbers, no question. But the real story isn’t that patriotism is eroding. It’s who is abandoning it.

A crisis of the left, not of the country

Crack open the partisan breakdown, and the picture snaps into focus. According to Gallup, 70 percent of Republicans say they are “extremely” proud to be American. Among Democrats? A pathetic 14 percent. Not a typo.

Oh, and it gets more lopsided from there. When asked whether being American is important to their identity, 76 percent of Republicans said absolutely — compared to a mere 41 percent of Democrats. On the military, Republicans lead 86 to 42. On the nation’s history, 68 to 26. And when it comes to America’s political influence around the world, 45 percent of Republicans express admiration versus — brace yourself — ten percent of Democrats.

These aren’t numbers that reflect a nation in decline. They reflect a political movement that has turned ingratitude into a governing philosophy. The left has spent years soaking in anti-American curriculum and grievance-saturated media. Progressive culture treats patriotism like an embarrassing relic. And now, on the doorstep of America’s 250th birthday, Democrats can’t even bring themselves to celebrate the country that guarantees their right to complain about it.

Who still carries the torch

Here’s the good news: millions of Americans never got the memo that they’re supposed to be ashamed. Samantha Fulks, a 40-year-old Texas Republican from a military family, flies an American flag in her front yard and plans to wear red, white, and blue on the Fourth of July. “I still support our troops no matter what they do,” she told the AP. No hand-wringing. No qualifiers.

Even Vincent Harris, a 60-year-old Black Californian who has navigated real obstacles in his life, put it plainly: “Right now, I wouldn’t live in any other country in the world. I’m here. I love it.”

The generational data tells its own story. Roughly three-quarters of Americans over 60 say being American is central to who they are. The people who built this country, served it, and raised families under its flag still hold it dear. That isn’t sentimentality. That’s earned conviction.

The flag still flies

Democrats can sulk through the semiquincentennial if that suits them. They can treat Independence Day like just another summer Saturday. But the rest of us — the ones who still stand when the anthem plays, who still teach our kids what 1776 meant — aren’t going anywhere. America doesn’t need universal applause to endure. It just needs enough people willing to stand for it. Fly the flag this Saturday. Mean it.

Key Takeaways

• Only 53% of Americans express strong national pride — the lowest point in 25 years of polling.
• The partisan gap is staggering: 70% of Republicans are “extremely” proud versus just 14% of Democrats.
• Democrats’ rejection of patriotism, not national decline, is driving the collapse in American pride.
• Conservatives and older Americans remain the steadfast guardians of national identity heading into the 250th anniversary.

Sources: The Post Millennial, Fast Company