‘IT MEANS FREEDOM’: Americans share what the Fourth of July means to them
Americans walking along the National Mall in the nation's capital shared what it meant to be an American ahead of their Independence Day celebrations.
Some young people are ditching 4th of July celebrations this year, admitting they're disenchanted by the patriotic holiday.
Gen Z and Millennials told The New York Times that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the country they no longer view America in a positive light.
Malaya Tapp, 18, said she started to feel differently about the holiday in 2020 when she saw racial injustices highlighted by the BLM movement. "I lost a lot of my patriotic feelings," she admitted to the paper.
Tapp told her followers on social media, "You don't have to celebrate false independence and white supremacy this July," in a video explaining why she wasn't going to celebrate America's founding. She suggested those who shared the same feelings could instead make 4th of July a "late Juneteenth celebration" if they were inclined.
COUNTRY DUO RELEASES FOURTH OF JULY ANTHEM, ‘WE’RE PROUD OF THE FLAG'
SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 14: Black Lives Matter protesters march through a downtown street on June 14, 2020 in Seattle, United States. Black Lives Matter events continue daily in the Seattle area in the wake of the death of George Floyd. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images) (David Ryder/Getty Images)
"It’s very much a controversial holiday now," she told the Times. "We all have to decide for ourselves if we want to celebrate."
Another young social media content creator from Phoenix said he was surprised to get a variety of answers when he asked strangers if they would celebrate the American holiday in a recent video series.
"I think a lot of people think America isn’t for everyone anymore, and so it’s not an inclusive holiday," Conner Miskowiec, 28, said to the Times.
Marissa Vivori, 29, is another millennial who shared she had "political qualms" about the holiday.
"Last summer Roe v. Wade was overturned, and that really made me less inclined to celebrate," she said to the paper. She worried that celebrating the holiday now would send the wrong message.
‘IT MEANS FREEDOM’: AMERICANS SHARE WHAT THE FOURTH OF JULY MEANS TO THEM
Spectators watch the 45th annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks display overlooking the Manhattan skyline at Gantry State Plaza in Long Island City on July 4th, 2021 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Others complained fireworks were bad for the environment and the loud noises mistaken for gunshots made them anxious.
Crowds, long lines and summer heat were also reasons given for skipping celebrations.
"I feel like it’s kind of the New Year’s Eve of the summer," Allison Bartella, 30, told The Times. "Expectations are high, and they are usually not met."
Polls show an increasing number of Americans from all generations are less likely to take "extreme" pride in the country.
A Gallup poll released last week revealed a historically low 39 percent of adults expressed they were "extremely proud" to be an American, only one percentage point higher than 2022's record-low number. The number was 16 points higher when Gallup first asked the question in 2001, growing as high as 65 percent -70 percent in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
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That number was the lowest among the youngest adults. Only 18 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds agreed they are extremely proud to be an American to Gallup.
A Fox News poll also found the majority of the country—68 percent— are dissatisfied with the direction the country is heading.
Fox News' Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.