DURHAM, NC—Confirming that the vast majority of U.S. citizens possess either too much or too little patriotism, a new study released Wednesday by researchers at Duke University has found that only 5 percent of Americans feel the correct amount of pride in their country.
The three-year study, which analyzed thousands of casual conversations, online discussions, exchanges at family gatherings, and parade attendance records, concluded that Americans routinely fail to display a level of patriotic sentiment that reflects a balanced appreciation of what makes the United States great as well as what makes it flawed.
“As it turns out, those who engage in over-the-top, borderline aggressive displays of patriotism and those who endlessly vocalize their disdain for America without once stopping to appreciate that this country grants them the right to dissent in the first place are both off the mark,” he added. “Indeed, we found that having an appreciable, but tempered, amount of pride in the United States is a rarity among the general populace.
Researchers discovered that individuals in the first category make a point of telling others they only buy products made in the United States, reflexively and repeatedly refer to the U.S. as the “greatest nation on earth,” and pay their bills with patriotically themed personalized checks.
The study also noted that the percentage of U.S. citizens who possess exactly the right amount of love and admiration for their country has fallen sharply in recent decades and currently stands at an all-time low, having declined from a record peak of 36 percent in 1776.Ultimately, Verbeek explained, fewer Americans than ever seem capable of feeling good about where they’re from without also believing the place of their birth makes them more important than everyone else.
“According to our findings, those with a correct sense of pride in the United States genuinely appreciate the Founding Fathers but don’t mythologize them, enjoy Fourth of July festivities, and during their lifetime visit at least four national monuments, one of which must be the Lincoln Memorial,” Verbeek said. “In addition, they find the bald eagle to be majestic but don’t feel their heart swell every time they see a picture of one.
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