Oklahomans are Proud Americans, but Some are Not So Sure

Slightly more than three-in-four Oklahomans say they are either extremely or very proud to be an American, according to recent polling, but a double-digit percentage of Oklahomans is not as patriotic. Nearly 55 percent say they are extremely proud, but 7.7 percent were only slightly proud, and 5.2 percent say they are not proud at all.

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[QUESTION] "How proud are you to be an American?"

1. Extremely proud 54.8%
2. Very proud 20.8
3. Somewhat proud 11.6
4. Slightly proud 7.7
5. Not proud at all 5.2

While 76.2 percent of Republicans say they are extremely proud to be American, only 25.5 percent of Democrats and only 16.8 percent of Independents agreed. Another 23.2 percent of Democrats were very proud, and another 22.6 percent were only somewhat proud. Amazingly, a plurality of Independents (29.3 percent) was only slightly proud to be an American. Fourteen percent of Democrats said they were not proud at all.

While 79.8 percent of those who identify as very conservative were extremely proud, 24.8 percent of those who identify as very liberal were not proud at all.

The percentage of those who are extremely proud fell with an increase of education, with 73.6 percent of high school graduates down to just 43.1 percent of those with a post graduate degree. Ironically, those with higher education are usually better equipped to achieve the American Dream, but it would appear that patriotism and the American Dream do not correlate.

Further, nearly one-in-four likely voting Oklahomans is embarrassed to be an American.

[QUESTION: AGREE/DISAGREE] "I'm embarrassed to be an American."

1. Strongly agree 4.3%
2. Somewhat agree 19.8
3. COMBINED AGREE 24.1
4. No opinion 4.5
5. Somewhat disagree 16.4
6. Strongly disagree 55.0
7. COMBINED DISAGREE 71.4

More than 86 percent of Republicans disagree with being embarrassed to be an American, but 44.1 percent of Democrats agreed with the statement along with 39.4 percent of Independents.

Sadly, 33.8 percent or a third of young Oklahomans aged 18-24 are embarrassed to be an American, which falls to just 10.9 percent of those over the age of 65.

Also, a third of likely voting Oklahomans believe that the US is a country they do not or may not want to live in anymore.

[QUESTION: AGREE/DISAGREE] "The United States is becoming a country that I do not or may not want to live in anymore."

1. Strongly agree 6.9%
2. Somewhat agree 26.6
3. COMBINED AGREE 33.5
4. No opinion 7.6
5. Somewhat disagree 20.9
6. Strongly disagree 38.0
7. COMBINED DISAGREE 58.9

While slightly more than one-in-five Republicans agreed with this statement, more than half (51.8 percent) of Democrats agreed which is interesting because the country's current president is a Democrat. Even more (53.3 percent) of Independents agreed that the country is a place they do not or may not want to live in anymore.

Incredibly, more than two-thirds (68.5 percent) of young people aged 18-24 agreed that the country is a place they do not or may not want to live in anymore.

Additional poll results showed that a nearly a third (31.5 percent) believed that the USA is not necessarily exceptional and has pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses as other countries.

Nearly one-in-four (23.2 percent) of likely voting Oklahomans disagreed with the statement that there is no country in the world that has greater freedoms than the US.

Amazingly, a third (33.9 percent) of those who disagreed with the statement claim to have visited at some point in the past a more socialist country than the US, where personal freedoms are generally very limited.

‍About the Poll

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, asked these questions of Oklahoma likely voters.

The scientific study was conducted from June 1-4, 2023 with 302 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from SoonerPoll's proprietary online panel. The sample was weighted by education, age, and congressional district in order to reflect the Oklahoma likely voter population for a general election. The weighting was conducted using a 'layered technique.'

The sample reflects the traditional demographical profile of the Oklahoma likely voter with roughly half of respondents identifying as conservative and nearly a third identifying as Moderate. The study has a Margin of Error (MoE) of ±5.65 percent.

A complete description of the methodology can be found here.

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