When I was growing up in the 1970's, there was a popular Chevrolet commercial that basically said that the four things that defined what it is to be an American were baseball (often referred to as America's national pastime), hot dogs (and never - I mean never- with ketchup), apple pie ("American as apple pie"), and of course, owning a Chevrolet. I don't know about the Chevrolet part, even though my parents often owned Chevrolet automobiles. Regardless, I have been reflecting a lot on what it truly means to be an American the past couple of months, even more so as we have been getting closer to the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding on July 4, 1776. Certainly "America" means more than just "baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie" right (I won't even comment on the fact that this was a television commercial for a major automobile manufacturer).
I was fortunate enough to experience July 4, 1976, the American Bicentennial, when I was growing up. The journalist Kyle Smith, who is about the same age as me, has similar memories about that time in our nation's history. In a recent article for the Wall Street Journal (see "The Bicentennial was a better birthday than this"), Smith writes, "To be 10 years old on July 4, 1976, was pure exhilaration and, as it turned out, the last time American culture was truly overwhelmed by patriotic devotion." While the issues of the day were certainly different from the ones we struggle with today, American society in 1976 was similar to our present day, at least in terms of the general mood. We were still emerging from the shadows of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Trust in institutions, particularly in government ones, was at historic lows, at least up to that point in history. The 1973 OPEC oil embargo had caused long lines and high prices at the gas pumps, leading to years of inflation. Just a year earlier, soon-to-be Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote in his essay "What have we learned", "In no one thing has the American civic culture declined more in recent decades than in the symbols of love of country, and of manly or womanly pride in the nation." I think it's fair to argue that Americans were just as cynical in 1976 as they are now. And yet, we came out in full force to celebrate our nation's 200th birthday. The colors red, white, and blue were everywhere. I remember all the parades, pageants, historical re-enactments, and celebrations on television. They called it the "Spirit of 1976" (see the famous painting by A.M. Willard of the same name below) and it was magical.
This year seems different. I could be wrong, but I don't think the American Sesquicentennial (250th year) will be anything quite like what we experienced in 1976. It certainly hasn't been that way yet. And that is unfortunate. While we were perhaps just as divided and cynical in 1976, I think we were a lot more patriotic then compared to now. We still were proud of "America" as a concept. We still hoped for and believed in the so-called "American Dream" ("If you work hard, you will get ahead"). Last year, a Gallup poll found that a record-low proportion of Americans described themselves as "extremely" or "very proud" to be American. In that same poll, 11% of respondents said that they were "only a little" proud and 9% claimed that they were "not at all" proud to be Americans. According to a recent AP-NORC poll, only one-third of Americans still believe in the "American Dream". More than half of those polled don't even believe it still exists. Many Americans feel that our best days are behind us.
The journalist Matthew Continetti recently reported in the Wall Street Journal (see "America's Posterity Problem") on significant declines in patriotism and national pride among younger generations of Americans. Continetti reported the results of an American Enterprise Institute survey ("America at 250: Surveying Change and Continuity on Civic Values") that showed most Americans understand the importance of our founding, which we celebrate today, and that most of us living here agree that America stands for something special. Unfortunately, that sentiment is far from universal among Generation Z, represented by Americans born 1997 and 2012. Overall, 65%% of Americans said that our country is a nation unlike any other, though only 52% of Gen Z Americans felt that way. Similarly, in the same 2025 Gallup poll mentioned above, just 41% of GenZ Americans claimed that they were "extremely" or "very proud" to be an American, by far the lowest of all the generations surveyed.
I don't know how to fix this malaise. Perhaps it can't be fixed. But I don't want to feel that way. I still am proud to be an American. I still believe in the "American Dream". And I still believe that better days are still ahead for all Americans. Yes, we have problems. We are more politically divided, and we have lost the ability for civic discourse. Our economy is getting weaker. The world is becoming more dangerous. Some have claimed that the era of American hegemony is over. But we still have the core ideals that are written in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence, one of the greatest documents ever to be written: all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that therefore, the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the people. As then President Calvin Coolidge said in a speech delivered in Philadelphia on the 150th Fourth of July Celebration, "Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence...whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in the knowledge that the ultimate applications of the law of the land will provide and adequate defense and protection."
Do yourself a favor. If you haven't read it before, take this opportunity, on this the 250th anniversary of its signing, to read our nation's Declaration of Independence. If you have read it in the past, take a moment to read it again.
I will leave today's post with one more memory. I grew up going to Purdue University football games (my parents were season ticket holders for almost fifty years I think, and I also attended Purdue as an undergraduate in the late 1980's). One of the pregame traditions at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium was a reading of a tribute to America called "I am an America" by the "voice" of the Purdue All-American Marching Band, prior to the playing of the national anthem:
I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail , or sweep them across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American.
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