Gallup: Republicans Rank “Patriotism” and Democrats Rank “Equality” as Top Needed Value
jonathanturley
Gallup released another poll showing just how divided the nation remains on core values. When asked, “which values the country most needs today?,” Republicans ranked “patriotism” as number one while Democrats ranked “equality.” What is most alarming is that no shared value cracks fifty percent overall. Patriotism is only ranked in the top three shared values by 32 percent. (Freedom tops the list at only 38 percent).
Gallup reports that “though no single value is selected by a majority of Americans, freedom (38%), patriotism (32%) and service (30%) receive the most mentions.” However, the differences between the parties are huge.
Republicans rank patriotism as the most needed value today, while Democrats rank it lowest at just six percent.
Clearly, the results must be read in context. There are many values offered and ranking some lower does not mean that they have no or little value. It is a relative ranking of what the country most needed.
However, it shows (as found in other polls) how far the two parties are apart on their perspectives of the country at this moment in history.
