Gen Z may be less patriotic, but boomers forget their own history |
Ahead of the United States’s 250th birthday, it seems that my generation is not feeling good about the state of the nation. The question is what to do about it.
A survey from Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics found that 69% of U.S. voters describe themselves as “somewhat” or “very” patriotic, but the results are very different across generations. Amongst those polled, Gen Z and younger millennials were the least likely to say that they’re patriotic. In the poll, 56% of 18- to 34-year-old respondents described themselves as “somewhat" or “very” patriotic.
Comparatively, older generations are much more likely to call themselves patriotic: 61% of 35- to 44-year-olds and 67% of 45- to 64-year-olds. Those 65 and older are the most patriotic age group, with 86% of respondents describing themselves as such.
There is slightly more patriotism when compared to a 2025 YouGov poll, where 68% of respondents said they were patriotic. Just like in the Deseret News poll, the youngest respondents were the least likely to describe themselves as patriotic. In fact, a 2013 analysis from the Pew Research Center found that this generational gap in patriotism has been consistently present since 2003.
It’s natural that young people want to buck the status quo and “stick it to the man,” and that presents itself in our lack of patriotism. It's so common that though boomers might be the most patriotic generation now, back in the 20th century, they were protesting the Vietnam War by marching in the streets and burning American flags.
There are plenty of reasons why young........