P.S. I'd never actually suffered through the full length of this immensely illogical song, which basically argues that, even if you get completely screwed every which way but loose, "I'm proud to be an American, so at least I know I'm free." This is a real phenomenon. It's what we have to crack through.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> On Behalf Of Doug Henwood
> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 5:28 PM
> To: lbo-talk
> Subject: [lbo-talk] at least I know I'm free!
>
> February 08, 2005
>
> Who's Proud to Be an American?
>
> Republicans more likely than Democrats to say they are "extremely proud"
> by Joseph Carroll, Gallup Poll Assistant Editor
>
> Americans are extremely proud of their country.
> Since 2001, Gallup has been asking Americans a
> simple question: "How proud are you to be an
> American?" The results consistently show that the
> majority of adults nationwide are proud, and a
> review of the Gallup data* over the past several
> years finds some interesting political and racial
> differences.
>
> Overall Results
>
> In 2001, when Gallup first asked this question,
> 55% of Americans said they were "extremely" proud
> to be Americans. This sentiment increased
> substantially after the Sept. 11 terrorist
> attacks, to 65% in June 2002 and 69% in September
> 2002. The percentage of Americans who say they
> are extremely proud to be American showed little
> change in 2003 and 2004, but at the beginning of
> this year, it dropped to 61% -- still slightly
> higher than before the 9/11 attacks but below the
> level of recent years.
>
> How proud are you to be an American -- extremely
> proud, very proud, moderately proud, only a
> little proud, or not at all proud?
>
>
> Pride and Politics
>
> Party Affiliation
>
> Republicans have been more inclined to express
> pride than Democrats when Gallup has asked this
> question. This may be because Gallup has only
> asked this question since George W. Bush, a
> Republican, has been president. Other Gallup
> measures show substantial partisan fluctuation
> depending on which party controls the White
> House. For instance, satisfaction with the state
> of the nation was higher among Democrats during
> the Clinton years, while it has been higher among
> Republicans since Bush took over in 2001.
>
> In 2001, just days before Bush was sworn in as
> president, Gallup found a 10-point difference
> between Republicans (including Republican
> leaners) and Democrats (including Democratic
> leaners) who said they were extremely proud to be
> American. Since that time, the gap between the
> two groups has widened, with the largest
> difference in 2004, when 82% of Republicans and
> 57% of Democrats expressed this high level of
> pride. The latest results show the gap narrowing
> slightly, with 71% of Republicans and 54% of
> Democrats saying they are extremely proud.
>
> In January 2001, roughly 6 in 10 Republicans said
> they were extremely proud to be American. This
> increased dramatically in 2002 and 2003 --
> reaching a high of 84% in June 2003. By the
> beginning of 2005, though, the percentage dropped
> to 71%, which is still higher than what Gallup
> found among Republicans in 2001.
>
> Among Democrats, the "extremely proud" percentage
> increased from a low 52% in 2001 to a high of 61%
> in 2002 and 2003. It has now declined to 54% --
> roughly the same as it was in 2001.
>
> Political Ideology
>
> Conservatives are much more likely than moderates
> or liberals to say they are extremely proud to be
> American. The percentages of conservatives and
> moderates expressing this view increased in the
> period from 2001 to 2002. Among conservatives,
> this sentiment remained unchanged in 2003 and
> then declined this year, while views among
> moderates have shown essentially no change at all
> since June 2002. The level of pride among
> liberals shows only modest variation from 2001
> through 2003, but Gallup's latest poll finds a
> significant drop in pride among this group.
>
> Pride and Race
>
> Since 2001, non-Hispanic whites have been much
> more likely than nonwhites to say they are
> extremely proud to be American. The percentage of
> both non-Hispanic whites and nonwhites who said
> they are extremely proud increased from 2001 to
> 2002 and held steady until this year, at which
> time pride levels decreased.
>
> It might be assumed nonwhites are less likely to
> be proud since they overwhelmingly identify as
> Democrats. But even within party groups, the same
> racial differences are found.
>
> The percentage of non-Hispanic whites who said
> they are extremely proud to be Americans ranged
> from a low of 58% in 2001 to a high of 74% in
> September 2002, about a week before the first
> anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now,
> 64% of whites are extremely proud.
>
> Only 39% of nonwhites were extremely proud in
> 2001. This sentiment increased over the next two
> years, to a high of 59% in June 2003, before
> decreasing slightly to 48% most recently.
>
> Pride Among Men and Women
>
> Gallup has consistently found men and women to
> express roughly the same level of pride since
> 2001.
>
> *These results are based on telephone interviews
> with randomly selected national samples of
> approximately 1,000 adults each, aged 18 and
> older, conducted January 2001 to January 2005.
> For results based on these samples, one can say
> with 95% confidence that the maximum error
> attributable to sampling and other random effects
> is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling
> error, question wording and practical
> difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce
> error or bias into the findings of public opinion
> polls.
>
>
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