American pride hits record low ahead of 250th anniversary

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, a series of recent national polls indicates a significant decline in national pride and a deepening sense of pessimism about the country's future, with sharp divisions along partisan and generational lines.

Multiple surveys conducted this spring show that the share of Americans who describe themselves as "extremely" or "very" proud to be American has fallen to a fraction of its post-9/11 peak. An NBC News poll conducted from late May to early June found that just 33% of adults are "extremely proud," with another 23% saying they are "very proud," for a combined total of 56%. This marks a steep drop from 2003, when 70% of Americans said they were extremely proud, and from 2017, when 82% reported being extremely or very proud.

The decline is not uniform. The partisan divide is stark. In the NBC poll, 90% of Republicans said they were extremely or very proud, compared to only 29% of Democrats. A separate survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), conducted in May, found 83% of Republicans expressing pride in being American, versus 31% of Democrats and 43% of independents. PRRI also reported that while...