NEW YORK – According to the latest FOX News poll, over half of Americans feel more proud to be an American this Fourth of July than last, and a majority believes they are more patriotic (search) than their neighbors. In addition, an overwhelming majority says they would rather live in the United States than elsewhere.
Overall, 52 percent say they are more proud to be an American this Independence Day than last, 39 percent say they are equally as proud now and 7 percent say they are less proud.
Partisanship plays a role here, as Republicans are almost 20 points more likely than Democrats to say their pride has increased over the course of the year. About two-thirds of Republicans (63 percent) feel more proud today compared to 50 percent of independents and 44 percent of Democrats.
On the flip side, 14 percent of Democrats feel less proud this July 4th than a year ago, as do 6 percent of independents and 2 percent of Republicans.
Opinion Dynamics Corporation conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News on June 14-15.
Today, a 57-percent majority describes themselves as "more patriotic than the average American," down from 64 percent last year (June 2004). Fewer than 1 in 10 think they are less patriotic and almost a third (30 percent) say they are as patriotic as others.
Opinion is divided on whether the country is more patriotic today than in the past. Roughly equal numbers think Americans are more patriotic (43 percent) as say Americans are less patriotic now than they were 25 years ago (42 percent).
The number thinking average Americans are more patriotic today has declined 12 points in the last two years. In 2004, 45 percent said the country was more patriotic than it was 25 years ago, and in 2003, 55 percent thought so.
"This decline is primarily due to the breakdown in national unity since 9/11," comments Opinion Dynamics President John Gorman. "After the attack, Democrats, Republicans and independents all felt about the same toward everything — President Bush, taking on Usama and the Taliban, and so on. Since then these have become partisan issues with various groups ascribing less than noble, and sometimes unpatriotic, motives to others."
Home Sweet Home
The poll finds clear agreement on which country people want to call home. Fully 93 percent of Americans say they would rather live in the United States than in another country.
Young people under age 30 are the most likely to pick another country as about one in five say they would prefer to live somewhere other than the United States.
A possible commentary on their displeasure with George W. Bush, those that disapprove of the president’s job performance are more likely than most other groups to say they would rather live elsewhere. Even so, a large majority — 88 percent — of those that disapprove of the job Bush is doing say they would rather live in the United States and 10 percent another country. For comparison, 96 percent of those that approve of the job Bush is doing prefer the United States and 1 percent some other country.
Following the Rules
Virtually all Americans say they follow the Golden Rule, generally known as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
About two-thirds (64 percent) say they “almost always” practice the Golden Rule and another 30 percent say they practice it “most of the time.” Hardly any disregard the rule, with 3 percent saying they practice it “only sometimes” and 1 percent admitting to "almost never."
• PDF: Click here for full poll results.
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