The Pew Research Center’s 2018 study, “The Public, the Political System and American Democracy” surveys Americans across the political spectrum on their views of government and citizenship. The general trend is an agreement with the importance of democratic values, but a disappointment with America’s performance in living up to them. Out of the 23 items assessing democracy in America, all were found important, yet only 8 were found to describe America very well. This means that the people, regardless of partisan support, are dissatisfied with the government, leaving much to be desired and improved.
From a different angle, participants in the study were also surveyed on their ideals for good citizenship. Democrats and Republicans mostly agree on the obligations of good citizenship. The difference lies in the exact percentages. In addition, Democrats value protest more (progress), while Republicans value the Pledge of Allegiance and displaying the flag more (nationalism). It is also interesting to note that leaners were less likely to rank aspects of citizenship as very important compared to partisans. This could be due to the fact that a lack of belonging to a certain group has not polarized their views. Last but not least, young people are less likely to place great importance on any aspect of citizenship. This is perhaps some truth to the saying that young people are not as politically involved today, but hopefully that has changed for the 2020 election.
