American pride and the political divide

Ninety-two percent of Republicans say they're "extremely" or "very" proud to be Americans in a new Gallup poll. Only 36 percent of Democrats feel that way. Independents are in the middle at 53 percent.

In 2001, there was no significant patriotism gap, notes Gallup. Eighty-seven percent of Americans were very to extremely patriotic in January, and that went up to 90 percent after the Sept. 11 attacks and stayed there through 2004. National pride began falling significantly in 2017, and is now down to 58 percent.

Last year, in the waning days of the Biden administration, 62 percent of Democrats said they were extremely or very proud to be Americans. "Republicans' level of national pride has been much steadier," falling only slightly when a Democrat president is in office, Gallup reports.

Older Americans are prouder. "Each new generation is significantly less likely than the previous one to say they are extremely or very proud to be an American."

I was born in 1952. I was raised to be very anti-Communist and very grateful my family had left czarist Russia for the New World. No Cossacks. No Hitler. No Stalin.