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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hope Lost in America? Not if We Cultivate Patriotism Together
Hope is essential for a thriving society, yet only around half of Americans are hopeful for the nations future. To address this challenge, we need to cultivate a shared patriotic spirit that rises above our divisive politics. The United States is a nation that emphasizes individual liberty, which has helped us become a flourishing country in which people are free to pursue their distinct talents and interests and reach their full potential. However, it is also important for Americans to balance their individualism with a shared positive national identity. Humans are a tribal species, hard-wired to form and maintain group connections. While our group-oriented nature often gets a bad rap because it can sometimes fuel prejudice, discrimination, and violence, particularly when other groups are perceived as a threat, it also helps us build and maintain thriving organizations, communities, and nations. Group affiliation nurtures social trust, unites individuals around shared objectives, and provides a sense of existential meaning that comes from being a valuable member of a family, organization, or cultural group that outlasts ones own lifespan. Thus, when approaching societal problems and goals, it is important to foster a shared national identity - a patriotic spirit that unites us across our differences. The latest research from the Archbridge Institutes Human Flourishing Lab underscores a particular positive feature of patriotism: its relationship with hope for the future of the nation. Hope is a crucial driver of individual and societal flourishing. Hopeful individuals are not only optimistic about the future, but also strongly believe in their ability to improve their lives. This mindset makes them more resilient when confronted with challenges and more adaptable in their strategies for overcoming obstacles and achieving their objectives. Consequently, hopeful individuals tend to excel in life, whether they are pursuing educational, professional, or athletic endeavors. The benefits of a hopeful attitude extend beyond personal achievements. Hopeful individuals are motivated to contribute positively to their families, communities, and society as a whole, and they are more tolerant of those they disagree with - a quality that is essential for the success of a free and diverse society. Hope also supports creativity and innovative problem-solving, which contributes to the entrepreneurship and dynamism that has made America a land of opportunity. So what does patriotism have to do with hope? When people hold a positive view of a group they belong to (known as positive group identity), they are more likely to maintain a hopeful outlook on life. A positive national group identity can thus encourage hopeful attitudes about the countrys future. Indeed, our nationally representative survey of 2,000 American adults found that national pride - an indicator of a positive national group identity - is a strong predictor of national hope. Overall, just over half (56%) of Americans are hopeful for the future of the country. However, a striking disparity emerged when considering the role of patriotism: 64% of respondents who said they are proud to be American indicated that they are hopeful for the future of the nation, compared to just 27% of those who said they are not proud to be American. Critically, this pattern was observed for Americans of all ages and political affiliations. Whether one is young or old, liberal or conservative, patriotism is strongly associated with hope for the future of America. The good news is that 81% of Americans are proud to be American. The challenge, however, is that there is a large patriotism gap between younger generations of liberals, conservatives, and moderates. While over 90% of conservatives, moderates, and liberals aged 60 and above are proud to be American, younger age groups show a significant patriotism gap, with liberals expressing far less pride in their country than their conservative or moderate counterparts. Only 47% of liberals under the age of 30 are proud to be American, compared to 75% of young conservatives. The widening patriotism gap among younger generations, especially between liberals and conservatives, poses a significant obstacle to addressing issues that affect the nations psychological, social, and economic well-being. Young American adults would be wise to learn from their elders that a love of country can transcend political differences. Encouragingly, surveys suggest that Americans are growing tired of divisive politics and media. This offers an opportunity for leaders across all sectors of society to recognize the importance of promoting a unifying and forward-looking national narrative that inspires hope, fosters understanding across differences, and encourages citizens to collaborate towards a better future while upholding a commitment to individual liberty. By embracing both personal freedom and national belonging, we can promote individual and societal flourishing, paving the way for a brighter future for all. Clay Routledge is vice president of Research and director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Want a more hopeful America? Increase awareness of past progress
America has a pessimism problem. Surveys show that large percentages of the public envision a future of decline and despair. This is concerning because building a better future starts with envisioning a better future. The good news is that we might be able to inspire a positive outlook about the future by doing a better job of highlighting past progress. America has long enjoyed a reputation for being a country of future-looking optimists. Yet, a survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that at least two-thirds of Americans believe that the nation will become economically weaker, less important in the world, and more politically divided by 2050. A Wall Street Journal-NORC survey showed that nearly 80% of Americans do not expect life for their children's generation to be better than it has been for their own generation. Numerous other polls indicate that most Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. At the Human Flourishing Lab, we regularly conduct surveys exploring American attitudes about the future, and we generally find that only around half of the population (at best) has positive expectations about the future of their nation. This is true for both abstract attitudes of the future and specific beliefs about how technological advances will affect life in the coming years. For example, we have found that over 50% of Americans believe that artificial intelligence will largely have negative effects on society and our personal lives by reducing human freedom and creativity while destabilizing the economy. Does this matter? Some might believe that we don't need a positive attitude about the future to build a better tomorrow. I've even heard people claim that optimism might undermine progress by encouraging complacency. However, a large body of behavioral science research reveals that positive future-oriented attitudes do matter for advancing progress. For example, when people adopt a hopeful mindset, they are more self-confident, goal-motivated, resilient, innovative, and actively involved in their communities. Similarly, optimistic people report higher levels of social trust and civic engagement than their pessimistic counterparts. And groups composed of optimistic members are more creative, cooperative, and successful at completing assigned projects. But how do we inspire Americans to have a more positive attitude toward the future? Our latest survey suggests one possibility: Increase awareness of past progress. Specifically, in a nationally representative survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late January, we found that expectations about progress over the next 50 years are strongly related to beliefs about progress during the last 50 years. Specifically, among Americans who believe life in America is better today than it was 50 years ago, 73% expect life to be better 50 years from now than it is today. However, among Americans who do not believe life is better today than it was 50 years ago, only 33% expect it to be better 50 years in the future. This pattern was observed across every demographic category. Similar to other surveys, we find that young American adults are the least likely to envision a brighter future. However, just like in every other age group, their attitude about past progress made a dramatic difference. Among adults under 25 who think life is better today than it was 50 years ago, 60% expect it to be improved over the next 50 years. This drops to 26% among those who do not think life is better today than it was in the past. In short, regardless of age, gender, level of education, household income, or political affiliation, Americans who recognize past progress are more likely to be optimistic about the future of our nation. As a culture, we need to do more to educate people about the many advances in science, medicine, technology, and social attitudes that have improved people's lives in recent decades. We should also encourage gratitude for advancements accomplished by previous generations that make our lives better today. Indeed, research shows that gratitude increases optimism for the future as well as the motivation to make positive contributions to society. As a society, we often take historical advancements for granted, allowing our current dissatisfactions and daily frustrations to prevent us from stepping outside the present moment to take a larger view and realize that life has improved over time. If people in the past were able to overcome significant obstacles and improve the human condition, so too can we address the challenges of our time. To build a better tomorrow, let's look to the past for inspiration. The opinions expressed in commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune. This story was originally featured on
