I’ve always thought we wave the flag with the best of them here in the northeast corner of Illinois. We hold stirring parades, fun fetes, pleasant shindigs and more around the Fourth of July. We honor our military veterans every chance we get.
But apparently that’s not enough, according to a recent survey of the most patriotic states in the U.S. While we break out our red, white, and blue paraphernalia around this time of year, Illinois ranks just 37th in patriotism, according to personal-finance company WalletHub.
That’s a few spots above Indiana, home to massive fireworks retailers and eyed by the Chicago Bears for a new stadium. Wisconsin, also known for its roadside fireworks offerings, is listed at number 25.
Sorry, WalletHub, we’re way more patriotic than our two neighbors. Do they have a train locomotive saluting our 250 years as a democracy? Nope. But we do, thanks to Metra.
Founding Father John Adams, who was among those who declared our independence from Britain, our first vice president and second president, instructed future generations on how July 4 should be celebrated. The day, he said, should be marked with “pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”
We have plenty of those overt displays of patriotism set for the weekend across Lake County. Most continue throughout the summer with various community festivals. Waukegan got a patriotic jump on July 4 celebrations with its annual American Independence Parade up Sheridan Road last Sunday.
Yet, apparently that’s not enough red-white-and-blue pride to satisfy WalletHub’s flag-waving nitpickers. Using 13 metrics ranging from military enlistments, veterans’ populations, voters in the 2024 presidential election and the number of AmeriCorps volunteers per capita, WalletHub evaluated the patriotic bent of all 50 states.
Coming out on top was Virginia, followed by Montana, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon. Minnesota, which had the highest share of voters in the 2024 presidential election, is number nine.
Arkansas, the state with the fewest voters in the ’24 election, was also deemed the least-patriotic state. Arkansans might have a star or stripe to pick with WalletHub data analysts.
Besides Minnesota, others in the top 10 include North Dakota, Washington State, Maryland and New Hampshire. The top 20 round out with Utah, Alaska, Kansas, Hawaii, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Kentucky and New Mexico.
Alaska more patriotic than Illinois? We probably have more patriots in Lake County than the entire population in the Last Frontier.
“The most patriotic states have a lot of residents who serve or have served in the armed forces, high voter turnouts during elections, and a high share of the population volunteering with national or local organizations,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst. Apparently, the group must have missed the thousands of sailors and Marines at Naval Station Great Lakes; Army folks posted around Fort Sheridan; and airmen and women at Scott Air Force Base in Downstate Illinois.
Those military numbers alone should take Illinois beyond Wyoming’s ranking. “Patriotism also isn’t concentrated in any one particular area — the top states are located in vastly different geographic regions,” Lupo pointed out.
What the WalletHub folks didn’t measure is how we should celebrate Independence Day. According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, some 52% of Republicans said their celebrations would include wearing red, white, and blue clothing, compared to 20% of Democrats.
Republicans also were more likely than Democrats to attend a fireworks show, 46% to 28%, according to the poll. That just sounds wrong.
As does another finding of the AP poll: Americans have grown less proud of their country’s history or the way its democracy works over the past decade.
The poll has determined that Americans’ pride in the U.S. on several attributes has dropped since 2017, including the nation’s military and its political influence around the globe. Another poll, this one by the Gallup organization, also found that only 53% of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American.
That is the lowest reading in the trend dating back to 2001. A Reuters/Ipsos poll also highlighted that the share of Americans who see the country as a global standout is on the decline. Some 30% of respondents said they considered America the greatest country in the world, down from 38% in a similar survey in 2017.
With all sorts of blowouts this weekend marking 250 years of American democracy, show those pollsters and survey takers they are wrong about a lot of things. Make some noise and wave that flag of freedom in democratic revelry, as John Adams told us.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. sellenews@gmail.com. X @sellenews
