Americans Say Patriotism Is Fading. One Army Veteran Is Pushing Back With Steely-Eyed Optimism

As the United States prepares to celebrate her 249th birthday, a growing number of Americans say they’ve noticed a marked decline in patriotism.

More specifically, 44% of respondents in an Economist/YouGov survey published this week said they believe the U.S. is becoming less patriotic. In comparison, a much smaller 14% said they think the nation is becoming more so.

Jesse Parks, a former U.S. Army Sergeant who served in Afghanistan, has noticed this shift in attitude.

“[Seeing] flags being burnt and seeing protests being more frequent,” Parks told the Daily Wire, “it tears down the country.”

Born into a military family, Parks said he was inspired to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him.

“All my uncles, dad, older brother, served. Everybody,” he said.

Parks initially applied to serve in the United States Marine Corps, but his application was rejected. Undeterred, he enlisted later in the United States Army, where he was accepted and rose through the ranks.

When asked why he enlisted, Parks said, “I think you join the military to fight for your country. It opens up a lot of doors, but in the end, you fight.”

He was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010, where he said his unit’s primary mission was to train and advise the Afghan National Army Basic Training Command Teams, alongside the British and French Armies. He later became an infantry fire team leader.

Parks said that patriotism was a major factor in his decision to join the armed forces. He described it as “a love of your country put into action, whether that’s military, that’s political, or that’s civil service.”

But what is “patriotism” anyway?

“Patriotism” is often defined as a “love for or devotion to one’s country.”

Yet, a growing number of Americans say they don’t see a shared sense of admiration for the country they call home. Lightning rod political issues ranging from abortion to illegal immigration, along with a major political realignment that has seen the Democratic Party lurch harder to the left and the Republican Party lurch harder to the right, have revealed a simmering disunity.

“[Patriotism is] a big part of what allows us to progress,” Parks said. “It is what kind of helps us progress as a society. We don’t all have to have the same views, but as long as we have patriotism, which is different than nationalism, as long as it’s there, it allows us to progress.”

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While Parks has an expressed love of country, his may not be a shared passion: only 67% of people claim to be extremely or very proud to be American, down from 91% in 2004, according to a 2024 Gallup survey.

A separate Marist poll likewise found a majority of Americans have noticed this shift, with 52% of respondents stating that the country seems less patriotic than it was just a few years ago.

The disunity and decline may feel all the more evident with the recent riots and attacks on first responders.

“[T]here has been a perversion of patriotism,” Parks told the Daily Wire.

“Groups like Antifa seem like they don’t care about this country and want to tear it down,” he said. “January 6 was similar; it was a movement to dismantle the country. It is seen on both sides.” 

Rather than being complicit in this division, Parks said, groups such as Antifa should “consider the opportunity they have in this time in history to affect the country’s direction, and to act accordingly in a constructive manner.”

Despite all of this, the Army veteran sees hope for the future.

“There is a lot of talk about division in the country at the moment, but I don’t think that is anything new,” Parks said. “I hope people will get involved over the issues they think are important.”

Participation “will increase their sense of pride and reignite a love for their country.”

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Simon Olech is a reporter studying journalism at the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.