A shrinking share of Americans regard a democratically elected government as essential to the country’s identity, according to a new poll released as the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is “extremely” or “very” important to the nation’s identity, down from 80 percent in 2021, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.

The decline points to growing unease about the future of representative government, particularly among the young.

The generational gap is stark. Only about half of Americans under 30 see democracy as a key element of the country’s identity, compared with 81 percent of those 60 and older.

The slippage extends to how Americans view the country itself. Only about a quarter say the U.S. stands above all other nations, while 44 percent call it one of the greatest countries along with some others, and roughly 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., up from 19 percent in 2016. Among adults under 30, 44 percent say other countries are better, compared with 22 percent of those 60 and older.

Faith in upward mobility has eroded as well. About half of adults, 51 percent, say the American Dream once held true but no longer does, while about a third say it still holds and 15 percent say it never did. Just 22 percent of Americans under 30 say the dream still holds, against 46 percent of those 60 and older.

The findings split sharply along party lines. About half of Republicans say the U.S. stands above all other countries, compared with just 7 percent of Democrats, and most Republicans, 57 percent, say the American Dream still holds true, against roughly a quarter of independents and 17 percent of Democrats.

Americans also remain divided over what binds the country together. Just over half, 56 percent, say a shared culture and common set of values are highly important to U.S. identity, down from 65 percent in 2017. On diversity, 51 percent say the ability of people to come to the U.S. to escape violence or find opportunity is highly important to American identity, and 55 percent say that about the mixing of cultures from around the world, though only about 4 in 10 Republicans call that mixing central, compared with 76 percent of Democrats.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)