Patriotism is part of growing up in many communities. Young children attend Fourth of July parades, and some even grow up to be in them with their high school marching band. Most say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, according to a new patriotism survey.
But then for many comes graduation and on to college where the focus changes to personal development and world affairs and all those red, white, and blue trappings are put away.
And with that, so too goes the patriotic intensity, according to the latest “Youth Patriotism Index,” shared with Secrets by the Young America’s Foundation and Townhall.
Just consider flags: 91% of high schoolers have a favorable view of the American flag. For college students, it’s 73%. Some 44% of high schoolers have a favorable view of the United Nations flag; for college kids, it’s 51%.
Or this: 66% of high school students believe America is exceptional, compared to 47% of college students. And 63% of high school students report feeling proud of America, compared to 40% of college students.
While conservatives have long believed that the nation’s mostly liberal colleges and professors do not push American exceptionalism, the new survey gives them a little proof of how students change once they move on to college.
? NEW POLL ?@YAF—in partnership with @townhallcom—releases the Youth Patriotism Index just in time for Independence Day showing the rising generation isn’t as anti-American as some in the commentariat say. @reagmccarthy with the exclusive:https://t.co/D7AdbujbLk
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) July 1, 2020
“While many young people today hold positive opinions about America and its attributes, it’s clear that once a student gets to college, those positive feelings are eroded or replaced with more negative opinions about our country. High school and college students still prefer the United States to other countries, believe that our country is a work in progress, and understand the reasons people around the world want to live in America, but barely half say they’re proud of America,” said YAF spokesman Spencer Brown.
He also told Secrets that the left-wing bias in colleges and the war on conservative speech plays a role.
“It’s clear that leftist orthodoxy has a comfy home in higher education. Biased or incomplete lessons on America’s history go unchallenged because, all-too-often, important conservative ideas (and the students who hold them) are not welcomed,” he said. “In some cases, universities go so far as to regulate conservative speech into silence, running afoul of the constitutional rights owed to all students. The liberal echo chamber creates students who, even though they may view the United States and what it stands for favorably, shy away from identifying as patriotic due to fear of leftist intolerance,” he added.
The survey puts an exclamation mark on the current street protests of policing and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of the activists are young and college-aged. Some have burned the American flag; others have hoisted anti-America posters.
Overall, the data suggest young people in the U.S. are patriotic. But the numbers shift between high school graduation and college.
In general, said the survey:
- Seventy-eight percent view the U.S. favorably.
- Eighty-two percent view the American flag favorably.
- Seventy-nine percent are glad they live in America.
- Fifty-one percent are proud of America.
- Forty-six percent say they are patriotic.
- Forty percent are willing to sacrifice for America.
But when high school vs. college is broken out on the same issues, the answers are:
- Eighty-eight percent of high schoolers view the U.S. favorably versus 69% of college students.
- Ninety-one percent of high schoolers view the U.S. flag favorable compared to 73% of college students.
- Sixty-three percent of high schoolers are proud of the U.S., 40% for college students.
- Fifty-eight percent of high schoolers say they are patriotic, 35% of college students.
- Eighty-five percent of high schoolers are glad they live in the U.S., 73% of college students.
- Forty-eight percent of high schoolers would sacrifice for America, 32% for college students.
Together with the survey, Brown said that young people may be getting the wrong image of their country.
“The 2020 Youth Patriotism Index suggests we ought to consider a question posed to America by Ronald Reagan: Are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?” he asked.
