Commentary
With America’s 250th birthday celebration very much in the news as we close in on the Fourth of July, have you been paying attention to the media focus on the survey finding that only 27 percent of Democrats intend to display the American flag on the Fourth, and that just 19 percent of Democrats express pride in being American?
It shouldn’t surprise you. Their distaste is manifested around their utter hate of President Trump, who regularly exhibits his pride in America as he promotes making American great again. And why would they oppose America first?
Incidentally, Republican patriotism didn’t show that well in the survey either as just 64 percent viewed that it was time to celebrate.
I often recall how President Biden disallowed fireworks at Mt. Rushmore claiming a fire danger in 2021 following Trump’s beautiful celebration there in 2020.
Democrats are now critical of algae in the Washington DC mall reflection pool that Trump recently restored as part of his effort to present the nation’s Capital in its best light for the holiday.
In researching that survey, I found it was conducted by Reuters/Ipos in mid-June as they asked 1,537 respondents how they plan to celebrate Independence Day.
Reuters is widely regarded as one of the least biased and high in factual reporting, but Ipsos is rated left-center and “most” factual.
In The Hill, reporting on a mid-May poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, 22 percent of Americans surveyed do not consider themselves “proud Americans,” while 73 percent said they do.
I was also disappointed to learn that 37 percent of respondents in the 18 to 34 age range said they did not consider themselves “proud Americans,” while just seven percent of those older than 64 did not consider themselves “proud Americans.
In a public opinion poll by the American Enterprise Institute, conducted as part of the AEI’s “America at 250” Initiative, they found that eight out of 10 believe that Americans take their freedoms for granted, while just 10 percent appreciate the freedom we have.
I found it troubling to read that while two-thirds of Americans believe that society has to teach kids what it means to be an American, 31 percent believe that patriotism is something that happens naturally as children grow up.
Recalling my early school years, patriotism was taught through the American history stories and daily saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag that hung in every classroom through high school.
If you are wondering – yes, public schools are allowed to fly the flag and encouraged to teach students of its significance. But are they?
In still another survey, by NBC News, it tells of America’s deep political polarization, with Democrats too focused on opposing Trump, that is “spilling over into national identity and expressions of national pride.” This survey found that 56 percent said they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, while a sad 29 percent reported having little or no national pride at all,
In the NBC poll, about 90 percent of Republicans said they are proud to be American, compared to just 29 percent of Democrats who say the same. While three-quarters of adults aged 65 and older report feeling pride, that figure drops to 36 percent among ages 18-34.
With the Democrat party going further left, is it any wonder they have a dim view America?
The level-headed Democrat strategist Doug Schoen says, “The Democrat party’s record of advancing extreme, left-wing progressive candidates for Congress “do more to help rescue the GOP than anything Republicans have done or will be able to do for themselves.”
How clear can their view of America be than to say what was not displayed at the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago this week. With all living ex-presidents on hand for the celebration, there was no American flag to be seen on the 19.3-acre property. The Center was supposed to “reflect American values, history, and embody American heritage.” yet there was no flagpole.
Last July, President Trump personally paid for the installation of two flagpoles at a cost of $50,000 each for the North and South sides of the White House, where a small lone flag on the roof was the only one for decades.
The American flag has always been an important symbol of freedom to me, from grade school, high school, my years in the Air Force and as citizen John Q. Public.
I installed flag poles in my yards or hung the flag at our front door wherever I lived. I flew it along with the flag of Texas, and today flying on a 20-foot pole in my backyard is the flag of the United States Air Force below that of the stars and stripes.
In 1955, while working in a summer job for my hometown school system, I helped install a two-story flagpole in front of an elementary school.
Finally, I couldn’t be more embarrassed by the survey results. I only hope they don’t truly represent America.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
