It’s a difficult time to celebrate America. This Fourth of July, the coronavirus pandemic rages nationwide, and the 127,000-person death toll continues to climb.…
It’s a difficult time to celebrate America.
This Fourth of July, the coronavirus pandemic rages nationwide, and the 127,000-person death toll continues to climb. The resulting health and economic crises have left more than 80% of Americans stressed about the future of the country and 75% feeling the nation is “pretty seriously” off track. Civil unrest embroils the nation after the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police. And while a majority of U. S. adults still say they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, both numbers are at a 20-year low, according to Gallup.
As we prepare to mark the birth of the nation, debate intensifies over what it means to be an American – who qualifies and how a good one behaves. Are protesters good Americans? The Black Lives Matter protesters or the anti-lockdown ones? Are you American if you were born here but don’t know the history? Are you American if you’ve lived here nearly your whole life but don’t have a piece of paper to prove it?
Experts say the heart of the debate is whether being American depends on who you are – such as being an English speaker – or on what you believe – such as valuing freedom or equality. This old debate is inflamed by protests over personal liberties amid the pandemic and severe racial disparities, all against the backdrop of increasingly diverse demographics.
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“White Americans have defined the nation, its norms, what it means to be an American for decades. That means that, by definition, some individuals… have been on the outs,” said Efrén Pérez, a professor of political science and psychology at UCLA. “Now things have changed demographically, politically, where some of those individuals are saying: ‘Hold on a minute. If I’m excluded by that version of being American, which I view as very narrow, we’re going to develop our own sense of what it means to be an American.'”
Experts say this isn’t just a fight over who belongs. It’s about one version of the United States versus another.
Despite the political polarization of the country, there are elements of American identity people generally agree on.
When it comes to being a “real American,” 90% said it meant treating people equally and 88% said it meant being personally responsible in a 2018 Grinnell College National Poll of 1,000 U. S. adults. When it comes to being a good citizen, a Pew Research Center survey that year found 74% said voting, 71% said paying taxes and 69% said always following the law.
Republicans and Democrats closely agree on several other aspects of good citizenship, including serving on juries, participating in the Census and respecting the opinions of those with whom you disagree.
But political identity still influences how people feel about the country and how they believe devotion to the nation should be expressed.
Republicans are far more likely to say they are “extremely” proud of being an American than Democrats, according to Gallup. Half of Republicans say displaying the American flag is very important, compared with a quarter of Democrats. While 52% of Democrats say it’s very important to protest when government actions are wrong, only 35% of Republicans say the same.
There are also perceptions not about behaviors but about qualities, for instance, how people believe a “real American” looks. Research shows Americans are much more likely to associate Kate Winslet, an English actress, with being American than they are Lucy Liu, an American actress. The Grinnell College poll found nearly a quarter of respondents said real Americans are born in the USA and are Christian, and 44% said real Americans speak English.
“That’s why they ask someone who is Asian, ‘Oh, what country do you come from?’ without thinking ‘Oh, this person could actually be an American citizen who’s born here and maybe the parents are born here and the grandparents,'” said Leonie Huddy, a professor of political science at the State University of New York-Stony Brook and co-author of the study American Patriotism, National Identity, and Political Involvement.
