A Gallup poll released Tuesday found that American pride has fallen to its lowest level since the firm began asking the question in 2001. The clearest expression of this decline is just how contentious the American flag has become.
The same poll, released by Gallup, found that Americans are split on their view of the American flag itself. While the percentage of Americans who fly the American flag at their homes at any point throughout the year is the same as in 1986 at 43%, the partisan divide has widened.
In 1986, 50% of Americans who said they flew the flag identified as Republicans. Today, that figure is 69%. The Democratic share of flag-flyers has fallen from 42% to 26%. Independents made up 36% in 1986 but now make up 42% of flag-flyers.
It seems like every day there’s a new headline with someone who was mistreated because they waved the Stars and Stripes. Homeowners’ associations are issuing fines to those who fly the flag at their houses. People are posting that they’re afraid of entering stores — such as Bass Pro Shops — that have flags outside. On top of that, news outlets continue to reinforce the idea that the traditional red, white, and blue flag is a Republican symbol.
NBC News recently captured the shift with the headline, “As nation turns 250, many Americans say the Stars and Stripes is now a red flag.” Its subheadline was even blunter: “The American flag: To some, it’s Old Glory. To others, it’s a MAGA hat on a stick.”
Bruce Watson, a Massachusetts homeowner, told NBC that “I’m very proud of our flag… [But if] we do fly the flag, we will also put out signs to make it clear that we are not MAGA.”
“If it were up to me and my mom, we’d be flying the Pride flag or the Philadelphia Eagles flag, instead [of an American flag],” Erin Beltle of Pennsylvania told NBC, also. “I love our country, but I’m not feeling very proud of our country right now.”
In today’s hyperpartisan political climate, it’s almost excusable that people associate their patriotism with whoever sits at the Resolute Desk. Many Republicans expressed extreme dismay during the whole of President Joe Biden’s term — even to the point of contributing to the divide of the country. However, there was no Republican who started believing that America was an evil country just because of the president. And there was no Republican who would rather see the country burn to the ground than have a Democrat president. The same cannot be said of many radical Left-wingers.
In the Gallup poll, the percentage of Americans who had “extreme pride” in the country began to split on party lines in 2015 and 2016 with the advent of President Donald Trump. Before this time, the percentage of Democrats and Republicans who were extremely proud to be American increased and decreased in lockstep. After Trump’s campaign, this group began to mirror each other—as the Republicans felt more pride, Democrats would feel less, and vice versa.
In a country with Trump as president — the partisan divide over politics and the future of the country does not, and should not, extend to the Stars and Stripes. The American flag has long been a symbol of endurance and liberty. To treat the flag like just another symbol of “the regime” is to treat the country like a monarchy — something that the framers of the constitution did everything possible to avoid.
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The flag has stood for great things over our 250-year history. The American flag is in a Scottish prison, having been engraved there by 18th-century prisoners inspired by the revolution. It is on the moon. It flies over the richest — and freest — country on the planet. Anyone who is ashamed of the flag—or who mistreats it—has forgotten that it has been around for all of these great things.
That’s why it is so shameful that many on the Left chose to fly the Somali flag at the Buffalo City Hall for Somalia’s independence day. It’s a shame that some are trying to replace American Independence Day with Juneteenth — while not flying any American flags. It’s a shame that New Yorkers approve of a candidate who wiped her hands on an American flag. Overall, it’s a shame that the love of America is relegated only to a portion of the population.