A new poll from Zogby Analytics could put to rest the idea that DREAMers and/or Spanish-speaking immigrants, legal or otherwise, are ashamed of America. According to one statistic from the poll, Hispanics are “the most proud [of America], at 56 percent, followed by whites at 55 percent.”
The poll takes a look at pride of country — a particularly interesting topic since that idea is sometimes conflated with the more xenophobic modern-definition of “nationalism”. What it found in general is that a majority of the country is proud of America, and that that number is heavily influenced by Hispanics. There are some familiar results, too, of course:
According to the polling analysis, “It must be noted that a majority of most groups said they were proud of the United States, but there is a political divide in the data. Trump’s base was more proud, while groups that are typically Democratic Party supporters are less enthusiastic about the state of the country. How we as a country bridge this divide is anyone’s guess at the moment.”
While the data regarding Hispanics might be surprising to some given the sustained effort to convince Spanish-speaking immigrants that they are oppressed and possibly hated in this country, some of the data was less surprising.
Three-quarters of Republicans were proud and 16% were ashamed of the United States. Democrats (40% proud and 48% ashamed) and Independents (44% proud and 33% ashamed) were much more likely to be ashamed than proud, compared to Republicans.
Among the least proud groups were the youngest surveyed, only 27% of 18-24 year olds were proud of the United States while more than half (53%) were ashamed.
Women also indicated they had much less pride in their country than men, with the numbers coming in at 58% of men proud while 31% ashamed, compared to 47% of women proud and 35% ashamed.
According to this poll, it looks like if the nation wants to come together and start moving in unison, the real areas of focus should be convincing women and young people they have a reason to celebrate the freedoms they are fortunate to have at their disposal. That, as it always does (and it’s supported by this poll), will require working around 40% of Democrats. But maybe they, too, can be convinced of the wisdom of optimism. If Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) can come together over bourbon, there’s hope.
Speaking at the McConnell Center, Sen. Chuck Schumer presents Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a bottle of Brooklyn bourbon.
"There's no such thing as Brooklyn bourbon," the Kentucky senator responded. pic.twitter.com/Rfbeo3AtjW
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 12, 2018
Join the conversation as a VIP Member