Overall, 39% of U.S. adults say they are “extremely proud” to be American in the most recent poll.
Meanwhile, only 18% of those aged 18-34 said the same, compared to 40% of those aged 35-54 and 50% of those 55 and over.
18% is still too high. As Obama’s pastor said, God damn America! Americans have very little to be proud of at this point.
What is there to be proud of? An illegitimate court, house and senate bought and paid for by corporations and foreign governments, a capitalist economy that crushes 99.99 percent to lift the 0.01 even higher? These are points of shame, not pride.
Honestly I’m pretty proud of how well turned the ship around on gay rights. Like in the span of a decade there was like a 40% opinion swing on that. We’re still not where we need to be and it seems like it’s getting worse though tbh. I think Europe overtook us on that front because I feel much safer here in Germany being gay in public.
How (generally) genuinely nice and outgoing everyone is in the states. (Outside of the south where it tends to be a very fake in my experience.) In the states I’m mildly introverted, in Germany I’m usually one of the most outgoing in the room.
Our multicultural foods and stuff. You’re never more than a stones throw from really good Mexican, Chinese, Thai, etc. food anywhere in the US.
Turning right on a red light, the European mind cannot comprehend it.
Air Conditioning.
Handicap accessibility.
Our national parks are unparalleled.
Probably a few other American gems I could think of if forced to.
All that being said I’m immigrating to Germany right now and the grass is very much greener over here. I have no desire to live in the US again. I’m definitely not proud of America anymore, but I am proud of a few things about America.
Just saying that cars turning right on red have almost run me over as a pedestrian multiple times.
I’m sorry, and I know this isn’t the point you’re trying to make, but the idea of someone asking an American why they’re proud to be an American, and they respond with “air conditioning” is just so funny to me that I’ve been giggling like a moron about it for the last 20 minutes.
The kids under 35 have only known post-911 snooping, bigotry, military adventurism, the 2008 mortgage crash, housing and education costing multiples of what previous generations paid (in adjusted dollars), COVID insanity, a political system that is completely inaccessible to them and utterly uncaring about their needs, and, finally, a climate being actively accelerated to disaster.
The wonder here shouldn’t be at their lack of patriotism. It should be at the fact that they aren’t setting fire to everything, murdering politicians, billionaires, and their lackeys, and generally grinding everything to a halt.
Ribbit
I thought we were living in 2023. Why be proud of coincidence to happen to born in a location? Feel lucky compared to other locations, maybe that makes more sense.
Yeah, I’ve never understood it. Especially when that location gives you privilege over people in other places. You’re proud because you were born in a wealthy country due to no control of your own? Fuck your pride, there are people starving to death. Feeling lucky you’re not one of them, fine. Being proud of it? That makes you an asshole.
I guess the other way to think is. You should be proud America helped in developing the internet, uk for penicillin, Greece for democracy etc. what’s wrong in that?
Italy for pizza
Don’t forget lots of people have nuclear bombs now… that’s pretty cool.
What does that have to do with pizza.
You can cook a pizza very fast in an atomic blast.
there is an optimal distance from the grocery store, where a nuclear blast would cook the frozen pizza section to perfection
Can confirm, am German and not proud to be an American either.
Ironically many Americans are proud to be [pick any European country].
Which I always found is considering they nor their parents nor grandparents had every set foot in that nation.
I am very proud to say that I’m not proud to be an American. Being proud of your country is a path toward genocide.
You can have pride in your country without being stupid about it.
I’m proud to be an American. I’m not proud of everything America does.
I’m proud that we were the first to land on the moon. I’m proud that we (eventually) helped win WWII over the Nazis. I’m proud of parts of our art and culture, Asimov, (early) Game of Thrones, most of the best games in the world.
I also protested the Iraq war. I think our ultra-capitalist, corporate worshipping ways have been a negative influence on the world.
I’m proud of Al Gore’s call to action on climate change. I’m not proud we haven’t done much about it.
I’m proud we have the potential to get off planet, self-sustaining colonies going. I wish we’d push harder for it.
You can find reasons to be proud of your country without endorsing everything they do.
Half of that shit happened before you were born and none of it was done with your help. I’m not American and my argument is not targeted towards Americans. No person should be proud of the coincidence of geography.
Exactly 1 thing this person said happened before I was born. We aren’t all 21.
There’s a lot I love about America: the natural beauty, some of the people, access to a lot that most of the rest of the world doesn’t have similar access to, but I’ve never bought into the “Proud to be an American” schtick. Our gov’t can get fucked, regardless of who the President is. There’s corruption that goes way beyond that office.
What do you have access to that most of the rest of the world doesn’t? Certainly not free health care?
Doesn’t have similar access to. Words create context. Having lived in Cambodia and traveled in several other countries, we have far more access to things we take for granted that are luxuries in a vast portion of the world. Air conditioning, ovens, next day delivery for many things, a separate shower unit, the list goes on.
What is there to be proud of?
Abolishing slavery, ending Jim Crow, giving women the vote, becoming one of the first dozen countries on the planet to legalize gay marriage, helping win WW2, helping support Ukraine, donating more to foreign aid than any other country on the planet, the Marshall Plan, everything about NASA, best national parks on the planet, entertainment capital of the world, first country to land a man on the moon, the whole “nation of immigrants” things making us one of the most diverse countries on the planet.
And of course, none of that excuses the dark parts of our history, the slavery, genocide, imperialism in Latin America, among many, many others. But that brings me to the thing I love most about American: with the exception of the loud Republican minority, we’re a country that actually reckons with the dark parts of our past and tries to make up for them instead of sweeping them under the rug. And then we get to work fixing them.
We’ve made so much progress even in my relatively brief lifetime-- in agonizing two-steps-forward, one-step-back fashion, for sure, but that doesn’t make it not count. I’m so excited to see where we go in the future.
A lot of that is just a list of problems America had that were solved by people fighting against the American government lol
Grateful to be born here and it’s the safest place to be if another World War pops off or something. The older I get, the more appealing getting a secluded cabin in the woods or a tropical island sounds. I am ashamed to be American.
it’s the safest place to be if another World War pops off or something.
New Zealand would like a word.
This might be a little controvercial in american politics community (not so much under europeans but even here it kind of is) but there is no right way to be proud of the place you are born in! You can be proud of partular parts of your system, your society or similar but not the location, that’s always fucking stupid!
You should only be proud of the things you’ve done… Same with shame
I’m proud of your mom.
I’m embarrassed to be American at this point… Republicans are literal fucking nazis, democrats continue catering to the whims of corporate lobbyist bribes, and corruption is everywhere. Nothing will change until the boomers start dying off ~2032, and that’s assuming we can remain a democracy that long.
I hate this. Actively wishing death on people because of the old “boomers bad” meme. You can’t really pin all of societies faults on boomers when there’s so many complex issues at play and so much propaganda machines. Are you hoping for the random 70 year old fella to die so your party wins? You have more reason to hate a executive from the same generation as you than some random boomer. The machinations that brainwash people into voting right wing will just make the next generation vote right wing as well. Letting capitalism divide people is how it wins.
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You’re crazy if you think there’s not a bunch if young generation politicians who are more than happy to cater to the whims of corporate lobbyist bribes, lol
Incredibly, people in USA are so self centered and egotistical that they forget that north America and south America and central America exists, and not only that, they seem to forget that we are all Americans. So this poll title is not only inexact, it’s also showcasing a level of hypocrisy and self entitlement that was never thought to be possible.
What’s your alternative? Other countries have similar one-word names for their citizens, “Italians,” “Japanese,” “Mexicans”, etc. United-Statesians? Then we might get the complaint that many other countries are made of smaller states too! Let’s go for “citizens of the United States of America,” that’s nice and short. I get that Central/South America exists, but let us have the word, there’s nothing else which sounds good.
You can call yourselves united statesians, that’s shorter, north Americans it’s good too. Gringos is pretty funny and Yankees as well haha
Yeah, I can’t say I’m proud at this point, though I’m not devastated or embarrassed, either. I think I could be proud again, but we’d have to halt our military-industrial-complex and political elites from continuing to engage us in proxy wars, to start.
Never have been. I got a bad taste of what nationalism was all about very young and only grew to despise everything unjust about this country and it’s bullshit “we’re the best!” stuff.
Young people are no longer majority whit e so that probably helps.
