A new poll from YouGov found that Americans are less patriotic today than last year. I participated in that poll, and I can tell you the questions were a bit misleading but I believe some of the results. In general terms people over the age of 55 are more patriotic than those that are under the age of 30. Only 16% of respondents under the age of 30 said they were either very patriotic or somewhat patriotic. A little over 60% of those over 55 said they were patriotic.
There might be a couple of reasons that the younger people are not as patriotic as those of us in the older group. The indoctrination of our education system supported by the constant drum beat from politicians and propaganda media have told the younger generation that America is the cause of all the evils over the last 250 years. We are racist, we are colonialists, we promoted slavery, and so many other things that apparently no other nation or civilization did prior to our founding.
The second reason is willful ignorance. It's one thing to have blind trust in your teachers or the media and politicians that are supposed to be our nation's leaders, but when you cannot make a connection between the way you and others live your daily lives and the contradiction with what you're told America is, that's your fault.
Americans are the most caring and giving people in the world. We have laid down our lives to protect freedom in other countries. Other nations joined us, but rarely have they been the leaders in such fights. We have stood against tyranny, slavery, and discrimination of all forms. We have been a beacon of freedom and opportunity that has drawn those with similar desires to our shores.
But we also help each other. Every time there has been a disaster, from a simple house fire that leaves a family devastated to a natural disaster that disrupts the lives of 10s of thousands of people, it is the American people that are there to help pick up the pieces. At those times we do not care what your political affiliation might be, who you might be attracted to, who you choose to worship, or the color of your skin. We see a fellow human being that needs our help, and we are there to provide it.
We have provided similar assistance to other nations, while they rarely reciprocate. We have welcomed people of all demographic classifications to our shores and given them the opportunity to live a free life and make what they will of their life. All we ever asked was that they live by our principles and laws. It doesn't mean there weren't warts. But we have always worked towards being a better nation. And we've made great progress because the people of this nation believed in the principles and dreams of our founders.
As we begin the countdown to 250 years, I ask each of you to make it your mission to not only remember the good about the American people but the collective good that has made America great. Our voice needs to drown out those that would tear us apart and tear this nation down. Be an example to that younger generation who's never been told about the greatness of the American people, the American dream, and the American nation.
