"The prevalence of positive illusions is one of the most
well-established findings in psychology. Most people have an exaggerated
view of their own abilities and expect that more good things—and fewer
bad things—will happen to them than is likely.
..
In a similar way, many citizens hold overly positive, but possibly
necessary, beliefs about their country. A sense of national pride can
foster community and bring people together, and it’s often a sign of a thriving democracy. In the United States, one source of patriotism is
American exceptionalism—the idea that the U.S. is a unique, and uniquely superior, nation. With its origin as a democracy in a world of kingdoms
and its emphasis on freedom and opportunity, this narrative goes, the
American system is out of the ordinary.
Among the young, that belief is rapidly dying. Since 1976, a large
nationally representative survey has asked U.S. high-school seniors, 17
and 18 years old, whether they agree that “Despite its many faults, our system of doing things is still the best in the world”: a fairly
succinct summary of American exceptionalism. In the early 1980s, 67
percent of high-school seniors agreed that the U.S. system was the best.
By 2022, only 27 percent did. Thus, only one out of four American teens
now agrees that their country is exceptional.
..
The decline appears to be mostly untethered to national events. Belief
in American exceptionalism went down during the Great Recession of the
late 2000s, and also during the economically prosperous years of the
2010s. It declined when the U.S. was at war and also when it was at
peace. It declined as income inequality grew rapidly, from 1980 to 2000,
and also as inequality moderated after 2000.
Support for the idea is now particularly unpopular among liberal teens.
As recently as the late 1990s, a majority had agreed that the U.S.
system was the best. By 2021–22, that had shrunk to 14 percent—only one
out of seven. (Belief in American exceptionalism has declined among conservative teens as well, but much less so: 47 percent of conservative
teens believed in the idea in 2021–22.)"
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/10/youth-democracy-united-states-unique/680344/
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