The Gallup Organization conducts periodic surveys to gauge public opinion on key topics. Around July 4th every year, Gallup conducts a poll on American opinions about patriotism, government, and politics. 

While Americans still have widespread national pride, Americans do not seem to think that our Founding Fathers would approve of what America has become.  This is a welcome surprise for two reasons. First, recognizing there is a problem is the first step in solving it.  It is good news that 71% of Americans think the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be disappointed in the USA of today. Those of you in the south and west are really bringing it strong. Over 74% of you say our Founders would be disappointed in America. 

Second, it makes perfect sense because we have become so self-centered and apathetic.   Our Founders were hard core.  When you compare the quotes and ideas of our Founders with statements of today, there is no comparison.   Take a look at the quotes from men like Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Roosevelt.  America’s Founders were bold, opinionated, and put the power with the people.  Our words today are diluted, censored, and we are more worried about being politically correct than with stating the truth.  It’s like a virus in our government, our people, our politicians and our businesses. 

Thankfully, only 27% of Americans think our Founders would be pleased with how America has turned out.  This is down significantly from 2001 where 54% of us thought our Founders would be pleased with America.  As part of Raising the USA, we can raise that number…but so that it reflects real change in America including our people, our government, and our attitudes.  So for each piece of news you read, each action you make, each political speech you hear, look at it from our Founders point of view.   We may be surprised how many actions, businesses, people, and politicians just aren’t making the cut.  Together, we can bring back an America our Founders would be proud of!

Source:  Gallup  http://www.gallup.com/poll/163361/proud-american.aspx

Great article we found - written by former Marine, Benjamin Busch, and taken from The Daily Beast. This article is an awesome reminder of what Independence Day is all about BUT also asks the hard questions about where America and American government is today.  Worth the read.  We'd love to hear your comments and feel free to share other facts, perspectives, and organizations that we should all be aware of. 
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Today is our Independence Day. No other event in these United States so
celebrates disloyalty and allegiance, sovereignty and the disobedience of a
sovereign, severance and unification. We are a country born of protest, but we have settled into an apathetic dependency, expecting benefits for ourselves and disinterested in contributing toward collective equity. Our political debates have little hope of true conversation in them. On average, less than half of Americans even vote.   
 
Our revolution began due to the disregard of colonial opinion by a distant parliament and king, no representation, a selfish empire deaf to our expanding self-interests. Colonists petitioned their grievances over taxes and control to the king as loyal subjects to the crown, never intending absolute independence. Armed riots in Boston were answered with British troops. The King of England eventually issued a proclamation repressing colonial rebellion, definitively announcing that the American colonists were now nothing more than traitors should they neglect their obedience to his rule. His decree spoke only of
devotion and allegiance, not context. Almost a year later, on the 4th of July, his order was met with the Declaration of Independence. War was entered as a just cause for liberty, but at its heart it was a conflict over loyalty and voice. We became free, yet kept some in bondage.
 
We have since expanded, taking the lands and independence of others, fought ourselves over secession, been reunified by force, have endured as a country composed of radically different politics, been polarized as red states and blue states, but have remained one nation. It was on July 4th, 1861 that President Lincoln sent his Message to Congress asking them to fund the war against disunion, and it was on July 4th, 1863 that General Lee withdrew from Gettysburg, a defeat from which the confederacy would never recover. Two years later Lee swore an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States again.
 
Our Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Baptist socialist minister in 1892 without the mention of religion, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Politicians added “under God” 62 years later, but it is not required when spoken. Immigrants must swear to entirely renounce all allegiance and fidelity to their homelands, bearing true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States when they become citizens. Our military oaths also state our loyalty specifically to that same document, enough to die for it. It is our Constitution that defines our beliefs and there is much to be proud of written in it. It continues to improve. What is now our common law was not always our common sense. The right to vote was essentially what our nationhood was founded on, but it took 82 years to allow voting rights for Americans of color, and 132 years to extend the same to American women.

We recently found this blog post published by Dan Jeffs, founder of The Direct Democracy Center.  Dan wrote this shortly after 9/11.  A short piece, but thought provoking, straight forward, and speaks volumes on our core values and issues with our current direction and culture. With Dan's permission, we are posting here again.  Please let us know what you think and feel free to check out The Direct Democracy Center website.  Here's the article:

Being an American means enjoying more security, freedom and liberty than any other nation in the world. Being an American means supporting and defending American democracy and every democracy that supports America. Being an American means pledging allegiance to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands.

I always knew there were rules for handling the American flag, but other than "not touching the ground" I was not aware of what they all were or who established them.  The guidelines for displaying the flag were developed by Congress on June 22nd, 1942.  We should all know these guidelines and some may surprise you:

** It should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement.
** The custom is to display the flag from sunrise to sunset on flagstaff in the open but it may be displayed at night for special occasions. 
** When the flag is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. 

Thanks to the Old Farmer's Almanac for posting this information and sharing. You can find the full set of guidelines on their site.  Please send us your comments and thoughts on what makes America great and show your American pride by visiting the Raising the USA on-line store.