Ahead of America’s 250th, Most Say Nation Has Lost Its Way

Ahead of this weekend’s Independence Day celebrations — with this year marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States — new polling suggests that most Americans believe the country has moved away from its founding principles, with an overwhelming number concerned that democracy is at risk of eroding.

conducted last month and published earlier this week, only 16 percent of Americans believe the country still represents its founding ideals. Thirty-six percent say the country has moved somewhat away from them, while 47 percent say it has strayed far away, demonstrating that more than 8 in 10 Americans feel the country is straying from its original principles.

One-third of respondents (35 percent) say they are not proud to be an American today. When given additional response options (other than “proud” or “not proud”), only 22 percent said they were “proud” of the country on its 250th anniversary, while 23 percent said they were “hopeful.” A majority of respondents had less than favorable responses to the question of how they felt about America, with 32 percent saying they are “worried” about the country’s future, and 22 percent saying they are “frustrated” with the current state of things.

Americans are also concerned about how their government will function in the days ahead. Eighty two percent of respondents agreed with the statement that there is a serious threat to the future of democracy. Only 17 percent said there is not such a threat.

Nearly 6 in 10 respondents (59 percent) said they are not confident that 50 years from now, when the country celebrates its tricentennial, Americans will be better off than they are now.

Donald Trump’s presidency may play a role in Americans’ pessimism about the direction of the country. Indeed, a deeply unpopular war in Iran, rising gas prices, the highest rate of inflation seen in years, attacks on reproductive and voting rights (particularly for people of color), and the president’s obsession with self-promotion and self-enrichment are just a few of the issues that appear to be taking a significant psychological toll on the American populace.

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As the country falls into more right-wing Trumpian policies, separate polling suggests that the electorate desires a more progressive future for the country. , 52 percent of Americans support creating a national health care system (versus just 30 percent who favor keeping the privatized system in place). Fifty-five percent favor having the government pay for college tuition, and 57 percent would like to see the government build more public housing.

A plurality of respondents want to see funding increased for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), while clear majorities want other social safety net programs’ funding increased, including for Social Security (68 percent), Medicare (65 percent), Medicaid (55 percent), and for housing assistance (55 percent).

Commentators have attributed the waning sense of national pride to the actions of the Trump administration.

“Since Donald Trump and J. D. Vance took office last year, they have set out to destroy both the institutions and the symbols” Americans have come to appreciate, The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum recently wrote. “Because they believe that only their clan represents America, that only people like them deserve to be considered ‘real’ Americans, and that the American government exists to serve them alone, they need to undermine anything that tells a more unifying story.”

“Barely one-third of Americans still believe the American dream exists,” radio host Thom Hartmann said in a statement to Truthout, citing an AP/NORC poll published in June. “Their pessimism isn’t a passing phase, it’s millions of Americans who haven’t necessarily stopped loving America, but who did the math and realized that the government isn’t holding up its end of the social contract.”

“Their attitudes won’t change just because Independence Day is here, and they likely won’t change until and unless the working class is empowered again,” Hartmann added.

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