The one growing gap between Dems and Republicans that shouldnt ever exist patriotism

Democrats take great offense at being accused of being unpatriotic — but the data doesn’t lie. A new NBC News poll captured the partisan gap over pride in America.Overall, 56% of Americans are extremely or very proud of the country, but only 29% of Democrats, compared to 90% of Republicans. That’s a yawning gap, and about a matter that really shouldn’t be controversial.We aren’t talking about abortion, or Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, but an elemental thing — pride in country — that in most times and places has been taken for granted. Once upon a time, that was the case here.The Gallup poll found in January 2001 that nearly 90 percent of Americans were extremely or very proud of the country. In 2017, according to Gallup, 75% of the public said that they extremely or very proud of America — a low at the time — and it’s been down since.The decline has been driven largely by Democrats.Their disdain for President Trump clearly is responsible for some of the drop, but not all of it.Democrats were less proud of the country than Republicans even when Barack Obama and Joe Biden were president.

 Obviously, pride in country shouldn’t depend on who the president is; the country is so much more than its politics.Mark Twain said, aptly, that “the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it.” Even if you have contempt for the party in power, there’s the country’s founding, its constitutional system, its stupendous wealth, its great heroes, its victories in two world wars, its natural beauty and its endlessly interesting, fair-minded and inventive people to feel proud of.Many Democrats are unmoved by these things, or consider them sources of embarrassment.The founding? Tainted by racism.Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.

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