As the US prepares to lavishly celebrate its founding principles, fewer Americans consider their country exceptional, according to a new poll. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The poll, conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, highlights a sense of unease among many Americans, especially young people, about the future of representative government. This stands in stark contrast to the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
Only about a quarter of Americans believe the US stands above all other countries in the world, while 44% say it is one of the greatest countries alongside some others. About 3 in 10 think there are countries better than the US, up from 19% in an AP-NORC poll in June 2016.
Americans remain divided on whether diversity is an important feature of US identity, and agreement on other aspects of the country's core character appears to be weakening. The poll found that Americans are less likely to consider a democratically elected government "extremely" or "very" important to US identity as a nation than just a few years ago. About two-thirds of American adults now say democratic government is highly important to US identity, compared with 80% in 2021.
"It's not that part of democracy isn't working," said 24-year-old Derrica Wall from Chickasaw, Alabama. "The problem is the people who are actually in office."
Wall believes politicians have damaged the American system of government, which was designed to ensure representation and protect against government abuse. America, she said, "is not what it used to be. I think our founding fathers would be disappointed with how things are now."
Young adults are much less likely than older Americans to consider the US special compared to other countries. According to the poll, only about a quarter of young people aged 18–29 consider the US above other countries.