WASHINGTON, D.C. — The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted a survey regarding American views on national identity and government. The survey found that 25% of Americans state the U.S. stands above all other countries.
Forty-four percent of Americans believe the U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world, alongside some others. Thirty percent of Americans indicate there are countries better than the U.S., which marks an increase from 19% in June 2016.
A democratically elected government is considered extremely or very important to national identity by 66% of U.S. adults, a decrease from 80% in 2021. Among those under 30, 44% say there are countries better than the U.S., in contrast to 22% of adults aged 60 and older. Additionally, 50% of Americans under 30 regard democracy as a key element of U.S. identity, while 81% of those 60 and older share this view.
Derricka Wall, 24, a Chickasaw resident, said the issue was not with democracy itself. "It's not that the democracy part is not working. It's the people that are actually being put in office that is the problem." Wall stated. She also commented on a perceived decline in the nation. "America is not what it used to be. I feel like our founding fathers would be kind of disappointed with how it is now." Wall said. "I feel like they would actually roll out of their graves. I feel they would be very disappointed in us."
A majority of U.S. adults, 51%, believe the American Dream once held true but no longer does. Thirty-three percent of adults think it still holds true, and 15% say it never held true. For Republicans, 57% say the American Dream still holds true, compared with 25% of independents and 17% of Democrats. Twenty-two percent of Americans under 30 believe the American Dream still holds true, while 46% of those aged 60 and older share this belief.
Kent Stage, a retired Army senior enlisted man and registered Republican in Indiana, reacted to the survey findings. "I'll trust the ambulance-chasing lawyer and a shady used car salesman before I trust the politician." Stage said. Rose Nunez, a caregiver in San Antonio, stated, "It is hard to celebrate when the feelings towards immigrants and communities of color are so strong."
A shared American culture and set of values are considered extremely or very important to national identity by 56% of U.S. adults, down from 65% in 2017. Fifty-one percent of Americans believe the ability for people to come from other places to escape violence or find economic opportunities is extremely or very important to American identity. The mixing of cultures and values from around the world is seen as extremely or very important to American identity by 55% of Americans. Forty percent of Republicans view the mixing of global cultures and values as central to U.S. identity, compared with 76% of Democrats.
Regarding national standing, 50% of Republicans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, compared with 7% of Democrats.