What are your thoughts on Patriotism in millennials and GenXers?

2015-07-06T17:58:01-04:00

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/06/patriotism_is_for_winners_why_millennials_and_gen_x_are_rejecting_the_national_pride_of_their_parents/

Patriotism is for winners: Why Millennials and Gen X are rejecting the national pride of their...

Still disillusioned by the recession and mishandled wars, younger generations are much less likely to wave a flag

Response by SSG Roger Ayscue made Jul 6 at 2015 6:48 PM

2015-07-06T18:48:43-04:00

They are not Taught to be patriotic in schools. My generation we were taught to be proud of our country. WE ARE AMERICANS...WE ARE THE BEST in the world and You need to be proud of us. WE WON the Second World War and Rebuilt the world...WE Went to the moon....
ALL OF THAT IS TRUE....BUT Today.....We have the Hippies in charge...yes, that wonderful generation that gave you the summer of love and the Anti-War movement (Most arranged by Communist agents in the 60's and 70's) are in charge of everything...When teachers and those that taught the teachers are anti-American, what do you expect?

Response by SPC George Adkins made Jul 6 at 2015 6:50 PM

2015-07-06T18:50:00-04:00

As a GenX'er (43 y/o) I gotta call BS. I my (albeit small) sphere of friends, patriotism is strong. But, we tend to define patriotism differently than our fathers. We love our country. We idolize our founders, but we distrust our government. Blind patriotism is scarey and dangerous to our Republic.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2015 6:55 PM

2015-07-06T18:55:40-04:00

There are three types of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

If you look closer into those poll numbers you'll see that it comes from a survey that asks how proud they are of their country. They report that only 54% are "Extremely proud". But what about the other 27% who were "Very proud"? That's 81% of Americans who are at least Very Proud Americans. Or if you add in the 14% who answered "Moderately proud", that gives us 95% of Americans who are "Proud to be American."

Only 4% said they were only a little proud (still proud though) and 1% saying they were not proud at all.

Here is the original Gallup Poll article. You can see that there are two trends. One is that there was a spike 2001-2004 and the levels of extremely proud Americans that tapered back to 2000 levels eventually.
If you look at the reference PDF at the bottom you'll see the other trend is that people who were listed as Very Proud and Moderately Proud dropped during the spike and then rose again.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/183911/smaller-majority-extremely-proud-american.aspx

http://www.gallup.com/file/poll/183923/Proud_to_be_An_American_150702.pdf

Smaller Majority "Extremely Proud" to Be an American

This Independence Day, most in the U.S. are proud to be an American, including 54% who say they are "extremely proud" and 27% who are "very proud." The percentage saying they are "extremely proud" is down from a decade ago.

Response by SPC George Adkins made Jul 6 at 2015 6:56 PM

2015-07-06T18:56:09-04:00

Btw, this article is by Salon.... It is their best interest to perpetuate the notion that America isn't exceptional. It may as well be titled "Pravda."

Response by SSgt Donnavon Smith made Jul 6 at 2015 6:57 PM

2015-07-06T18:57:09-04:00

Figured I would respond since it was my question. I am a GenXer and Very Patriotic, unlimited love for my country, but I find myself growing ashamed of my fellow countrymen on the whole and very disdainful towards my government.

I am a scoutmaster and a commissioner, in these roles I see several hundred young males 10-18 monthly and there is a smattering of patriotism, but the level does appear to be waning. There has been an increased impetus towards patriotic acts to combat this trend (at least in the units near me)

Response by MAJ Keira Brennan made Jul 6 at 2015 7:50 PM

2015-07-06T19:50:01-04:00

<-----------Gen-X retiree

Response by MSgt Michael Smith made Jan 5 at 2016 8:18 AM

2016-01-05T08:18:39-05:00

Just personally, I think that baby-boomers were probably not representative of a cultural norm for American patriotism. Having been brought up in an era when America emerged victorious in 2 World Wars and was the bastion of freedom in the world, I think that baby-boomers and their parents were probably much more patriotic than the generations before them. So what we are seeing now is a shift back to the norm for American patriotism, more in line with historical trends (i.e. regionalism)