Patriotism in decline The Indian chief Tecumseh once said: "Let us form one body, one heart and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our freedom and the graves of our fathers” (Tecumseh). Patriotism is in decline in America acts of incredible heroism inspired by patriotism, evidence shows there is a lack of patriotism in modern America Say no to plagiarism Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, patriotism is defined as "devotion and love for one's country" ("Patriotism" 852). To support what patriotism looks like, look at a familiar situation. What would happen if a family was not loyal to each other? What would happen if children did not respect their parents or if their spouse cheated on their spouse? This would cause discord in the family and the family would eventually fall apart if nothing was done to prevent it. How about a football team? What if the coach didn't tell the players what the play would be? What if the players decide not to do their jobs? In a functioning society, no one is less important than another person. We all have a job to do and we must work together to get it done. Patriotism is in decline. We just have to turn on the TV to find out what is apparently wrong with America. The media constantly gives us different and distorted views of what each TV host believes to be right. Increasing technological advances over the past decade and a half may be contributing to the decline of patriotism. America is classified by age. There are several generations that make up the majority of Americans. The oldest generation, the Silent Generation, consists of people aged between 86 and 69; Baby Boomers are between the ages of 68 and 50; Generation X is between the ages of 49 and 34, while Millennials are between the ages of 33 and 18 (Vavreck). Patriotism especially appears to be declining among younger generations. AARP conducted a social survey interviewing people over the age of 18. 57% of respondents described themselves as patriotic, while 12% described themselves as not very patriotic. 74% of people over the age of 50 say they are extremely or very patriotic compared to 60% of those aged 35 to 49 and 32% of those aged 18 to 34. 25% say they have become more patriotic over the past five years while 11% have become less patriotic (Holley). The ANES (American National Election Study) conducted a survey of patriotism in America. They asked people different questions about how they felt about different aspects of America. Answers could range from “extremely good” to “not at all good”. The first question asked by ANES was “How does seeing the American flag make you feel?” 79% of Americans responded that it makes them feel at least good. However, 7% said the flag didn't make them feel good at all. Many people still have a high regard for America as a whole. When surveyed, 95% said they at least liked America, while only a third of 1% said they hated it (Vavreck). These statistics may convey the feeling that patriotism is still strong. However, if you look at the fine print, you will finddiscrepancies between generations. 81% of the silent generation surveyed said they love America. Now we can see that only 58% of Millennials feel the same way. 78% of the Silent Generation said they consider their American identity very important to them. Going down the generations, the percentage drops to 70% for Baby Boomers, 60% for Generation X and only 45% of Millennials believe their American identity is important (Vavreck). What if only 33% of people placed their hands on their hearts when the Pledge of Allegiance was taken? When asked how they feel when they see Old Glory flying, 94% of Silent Generation members reported that it made them feel good. but only 67% of Millennials say the same thing. Some might say it is an “age question,” but if we investigate further, we see that the true start of the survey is in 1988 (Vavreck). In 1988, members of Generation X were 23 years old or younger. 73% of them said that looking at the flag made them feel a sense of pride. This is the exact same percentage reported by Generation This is almost the same percentage in the 2012 survey: 87%. This model suggests that patriotism does not move through the life cycle, but instead remains with the generation (Vavreck). Could it be because 31% of Silent Generationers surveyed served on active duty in the US military? Was it because they endured World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War? Only 4% of Millennials have served in the Armed Forces (Vavreck). Of the 19.3 million veterans in the United States in 2014, 9.4 million were over age 65. Seven million were Vietnam War veterans, 1.1 million served in World War II, 5.5 million were Gulf War veterans, and 4.4 million served in peacetime. ("American"). Trends show that older generations have more respect and reverence for American symbols such as the flag and the national anthem. They are more likely to take offense at things like not following the flag code, or perhaps not standing when the national anthem is played. Younger generations are not as keen on these symbols, but they respect the classical ideals of justice and equality. In contrast, younger generations would be more likely to be offended if women were not paid the same as men, or when same-sex marriage was not legal in all states. In fact, only 37% of older generations believe that inequalities of opportunity in life are a big problem, while 57% of younger generations believe that it is a larger problem that needs to be addressed (Vavreck). support your country? One of the first things people think about when they want to show patriotism is voting. It may seem like a vote doesn't matter, but when we vote we give candidates we agree with a chance to make the world better. It might seem like our votes don't make a difference, but they actually do. In the 2000 presidential election, nearly 6 million votes were cast in the state of Florida. When the votes were counted, George W. Bush won the election by just 537 votes (Remy, 487)! About only thirty percent of registered voters in the United States vote (Adams). It is also important to be informed about the candidates and the current president to understand what their policies are. People are more likely to vote when they do