New research from SSRS finds that two-thirds or more U.S. adults believe that five civic acts are extremely or very important for people in the U.S. to do:

  1. Treat other people in the U.S. with respect, regardless of their racial or ethnic background (93%),
  2. Vote in elections (83%),
  3. Pay taxes (71%),
  4. Stay informed on the news (69%),
  5. Speak English (68%).

Republicans and Democrats agree on the importance of the first four of these civic acts. But after that, adherents of the two political parties begin to differ. Three-fourths or more of Republicans, but only about half of Democrats believe the next three acts on the list are extremely or very important: speaking English (85% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats); buying American-made products (76% to 52%); and embracing American culture (78% to 46%).

On four of these civic acts, political independents are less likely than either Republicans or Democrats to say they are extremely or very important for people in the U.S. to do. These include voting in elections (72%, compared to 88% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats), paying taxes (63%, compared to 74% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats), staying informed on the news (61%, compared to 72% of Republicans and 73% of Democrats), and serving on a jury (48%, compared to 60% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats).

These findings are part of an SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus poll conducted June 21 – 24, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18 and older.

The Public and Patriotism SSRS_civil acts

The Public’s Views About Patriotism

The new poll also finds that a majority of U.S. adults believe patriotism has a positive impact on the country (60%), 24% think it has a negative impact, and 16% see no impact. While 86% of Republicans believe patriotism has a positive impact on the U.S., Democrats are more divided, with 45% seeing the impact as positive, 37% negative.

Majorities of U.S. adults aged 50 or over (71%) and aged 30-49 (57%) believe patriotism has a positive impact on the country. But younger adults (aged 18-29) are more closely divided, with a plurality (46%) believing the impact of patriotism is negative, 40% positive.

impact of patriotism_ssrs
Nearly eight in ten U.S. adults consider themselves to be very (40%) or somewhat patriotic (39%).

This includes large majorities of both Republicans (95%) and Democrats (75%), although Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats (65% to 28%) to say they are very patriotic. Half of younger adults (aged 18-29) say they are not very or not at all patriotic.

patriotic feelings_ssrs

Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they make an effort to buy products that are made in America instead of products made elsewhere (67%).

A majority of both parties’ adherents say they make an effort to buy American, although a significantly higher proportion of Republicans (83%) than Democrats (60%) say they do.

made in USA_ssrs

When it comes to displaying the American flag at their homes, 27% of U.S. adults say they display the flag daily or throughout most of the year, 28% only around patriotic holidays, and 45% never.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats (47% to 18%) to say they display the flag daily or throughout most of the year. A majority of Democrats (56%) and college graduates (53%) say they never display the flag at their home.

About four in ten U.S. adults (39%) believe it is extremely or very important for people living in the U.S. to fly an American flag.

USA flag flying_ssrs

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Methodology

These findings are part of an SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus poll conducted June 21 – 24, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18 and older.  The margin of error for total respondents is +/- 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The design effect is 1.3.  View the questions used for this analysis, along with the responses >>.  The questionnaire was developed and the data analyzed by SSRS contributor, John M. Benson, with assistance from the SSRS team.

John Benson SSRS Contributor

John M. Benson is a public opinion researcher, academic writer, and editor with over thirty years’ experience examining public attitudes about health policy and other domestic policy issues.  He has directed numerous national and international polling projects leading to more than 100 publications in New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, JAMA, Public Opinion Quarterly, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Public Health Reports, Milbank Quarterly, Social Science Research, and other domestic policy and polling journals. He is also co-author of American Public Opinion and Health Care (CQ Press).

The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey.  All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.

The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is conducted on the SSRS Opinion Panel. SSRS Opinion Panel members are recruited randomly based on a nationally representative ABS (Address Based Sample) design (including Hawaii and Alaska). ABS respondents are randomly sampled by Marketing Systems Group (MSG) through the U.S. Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File (CDS), a regularly updated listing of all known addresses in the U.S. For the SSRS Opinion Panel, known business addresses are excluded from the sample frame.

The SSRS Opinion Panel is a multi-mode panel (web and phone). Most panelists take self-administered web surveys; however, the option to take surveys conducted by a live telephone interviewer is available to those who do not use the internet as well as those who use the internet but are reluctant to take surveys online.  All sample drawn for this study were SSRS Opinion Panelists who are U.S. adults ages 18 or older. Sample was selected to ensure representation by age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, Census region, and party identification. Possible sources of non-sampling error include non-response bias, as well as question wording and ordering effects.

About SSRS

SSRS is breaking the mold on what research companies can do.  A full-service market and survey research firm, we use the latest data collection best practices and apply cutting-edge survey methodologies backed by insight from our industry-leading team.  We have genuine enthusiasm for our work and a shared goal to connect people through research.  Our solutions include groundbreaking approaches fit for purpose:  the SSRS Opinion Panel, Encipher, SSRS Virtual Insights, the SSRS Text Message panel, and more.  Our research areas focus on Health Care and Health Policy, Public Opinion and Policy, Political and Election Polling, Consumer and Lifestyle, and Sports and Entertainment.

Media Contact:  Karin Bandoian  |  SSRS Vice President of Brand and Creative Strategy