The United States celebrates its second Independence Day this July 4th, following an event that has marked the nation’s history forever: On January 6, 2021, the convention center in Washington was occupied by protesters determined to block the opening at all costs. Biden, replacing Donald Trump, shook the country’s prestige.
The USA has not been the same since then. The investigation into the incident, in which five people lost their lives, continues. Donald Trump is preparing for a new presidential bid. And the already great political polarization in society and in the media has increased even more.
The Pew Research Center Institute drew on national history to combine several recent studies and create a picture of Americans’ perceptions of their country and democracy.
US prestige in the eyes of Americans
Do Americans think they are superior? Many think so—and the oldest are the most convinced of this superiority, according to the survey.
Pew study signed by analyst Katherine Schaeffer He points to a survey conducted in July 2021, where 52% of Americans said the United States was “one of the largest countries in the world on a par with some.”
Another 23% said the US is “above all other countries in the world”. “There are other countries that do better than the US,” said less than a quarter (23%) of those surveyed.
People aged 65 and over were most likely to say the US was superior to all other countries (38%), while adults aged 18-29 were the least likely (10%) to say so.
Among GOP-inclined Republicans or independents, 38% say the US is above all other nations, compared to just 12% of Democrats who feel the same.
Democrats aged 18-29 were particularly likely to say other countries were doing better than the United States, with 55% expressing this view.
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Does the prestige of the USA remain the same in the international arena?
The invasion of the Capitol was broadcast live to the world with scenes of atrocities that frightened those who have always seen the United States as an organized and politically stable nation.
Donald Trump’s last year in office coincided with the height of the pandemic. The former president has established himself as a propagandist of fake news about the disease and controversial views about the use of masks and the practice of isolation.
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All this was widely covered in the international media. And the Americans understood the damage to US prestige.
According to Schaeffer, there have been significant changes in the way Republicans and Democrats see global respect for the country.
In a poll conducted in May of this year, 81% of Republicans said they thought the United States was less respected by other countries than in the past.
The analyst states that there has been an increase of about 50 percentage points in the Republican camp in this negative view of Republicans since the Trump era. most than to say it is internationally respected less reputable.
In the Democratic camp, six out of 10 people said in May that the United States was less respected than in the past; this fell from a record 87% in 2017 under the Trump administration.
“Overall, 68% of Americans say the United States is less respected on the global stage than in the past.”
Immigration, nerve exposed in the US
The Pew study also examined Americans’ views on a divisive issue: immigration. Two-thirds of the population (66%) say opening the country to people from around the world is “essential for America as a nation.”
Second Katherine SchaefferYoung adults were more likely to accept immigrants than older people: in a 2021 survey, 78% of adults aged 30 to 49 and 69% of adults aged 30 to 49 said so, compared with 60% of adults aged 50 to 64 and 59% of it. Those over the age of 65.
“Democrats were more likely than Republicans (46% versus 85%) to say America’s openness is essential to the country’s identity,” the Pew analyst said.
US democracy concerns
The impact of polarization and events on Capitol Hill left their mark. The analysis revealed that most Americans are dissatisfied with the way democracy works in the country.
About six in ten (58%) adults in the US say they are dissatisfied with the functioning of their democracy.
This was one of the top five dissatisfaction rates in the Pew Q2 2021 survey of people in 17 advanced economies worldwide.
Americans’ dissatisfaction rate was about 50% higher than the average for a total of 17 countries (41%).
In the same poll, the vast majority of Americans (85%) said the US political system needed major changes (43%) or a complete overhaul (42%), stressed Schaeffer.
Of US adults who said they wanted major political reform, 58% said they weren’t sure it would happen.
In all 17 countries surveyed, an average of 38% said their systems needed to be changed, while 23% said they needed complete reform.
Falling prestige awareness x confidence in the future
Still, Americans remain optimistic about the country’s future, according to Pew Research Center research.
More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents, including majorities from both political parties, said they had some or too much confidence in the future of the United States in a survey conducted in the second quarter of this year.
About three-quarters of Democrats (74%) and 62% of Republicans share this view.
“Americans remain hopeful, but dissatisfied with the current state of the nation,” said the Pew analyst.
Democrats (63%) are much more likely than Republicans (37%) to say they are confident in the country’s future, as they have been since Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
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source: Noticias
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