{"id":15616,"date":"2013-07-03T00:01:49","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T05:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/a-generational-gap-in-american-patriotism\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:30:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:30:25","slug":"a-generational-gap-in-american-patriotism","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/07\/03\/a-generational-gap-in-american-patriotism\/","title":{"rendered":"A generational gap in American patriotism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Characterized by fireworks, barbecues and a trio of American colors, Independence Day commemorates United States history and celebrates patriotism. But a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2011\/11\/03\/section-4-views-of-the-nation\/\">2011 Pew Research report<\/a> identified a significant generation gap in views about American exceptionalism and patriotism.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Americans were asked if they think the United States is the greatest country in the world, there were sharp differences in the responses across generations. In total, 48% of Americans believe the United States is the greatest country in the world and 42% believe it is one of the greatest countries in the world, but a significant portion of the Millennial generation responded differently.<!--more--><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2013\/07\/FT_13.07.03_IndependenceDay_640x300.jpg\"><img data-dominant-color=\"9a6267\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #9a6267;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-27919 not-transparent\" alt=\"FT_13.07.03_IndependenceDay_640x300\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2013\/07\/FT_13.07.03_IndependenceDay_640x300.jpg\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just 32% of Millennials believe the U.S. is the greatest country in the world. That number progressively increases among the Gen X (48%), Boomer (50%) and Silent generations (64%). Millennials were also the most likely generation to say America is not the greatest country in the world (11%).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millennials also are less likely than their elders to express patriotism. A majority of Millennials (70%) agreed with the statement \u201cI am very patriotic.\u201d But even larger percentages of Gen Xers (86%), Boomers (91%) and Silents (90%) said the same. This generational gap is consistent and has been identified in surveys dating back to 2003.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite their comparatively low level of patriotism, Millennials are more optimistic about the nation\u2019s current state of affairs as well as its future. Compared to Boomers and Silents, a slightly greater percentage of Millennials (55%) and Gen Xers (55%) think the country\u2019s best days are ahead. In total, half of Americans (51%) say that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey also found a cross-generational common ground in views about the factors that have led to America\u2019s success. More than 90% of respondents from each generation said the country\u2019s freedoms \u2013 more than any other factor \u2013 have been very important in contributing to America\u2019s success.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Compared to other generations, a smaller percentage of Millennials say the U.S. is the greatest country in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":null,"sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[{"key":"96f18eb3dd79d2942ef2a179cf199d69","termId":837}],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[29,201,204,199,109,207,59],"bylines":[837],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-15616","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-generations-age","category-baby-boomers","category-comparison-of-generations","category-millennials","category-national-conditions","category-older-adults-aging","category-political-ideals-systems","bylines-katie-reilly","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states"],"label":"Short 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