Parents on National Ideals, Bad Citizens

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In May, the Public Agenda Foundation in New York City marked its 50th anniversary. The organization, founded in 1975 by social scientist Daniel Yankelovich and former secretary of state Cyrus Vance, wanted to amplify the voices of ordinary Americans. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, researchers there designed a series of surveys designed to do just that. As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, one of these impressive surveys is worth a deeper look. The 1998 survey asked parents a series of questions about what the United States stood for and what children should be taught about US history and ideals. The survey included large oversamples of black, Hispanic, and immigrant parents. Both the design and the answers themselves reflected not only an awareness of problems the country faced, but also a deep belief in the goodness of America. It is hard to imagine some of the questions being asked today. One battery of questions asked about a series of circumstances in which a person would be a “bad citizen.” Pollsters rarely use judgmental language like that these days. Slightly more than 70% of white, black, Hispanic, and immigrant parents agreed that they would consider someone a bad citizen if a person refused to work with people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Around 60% of white, Hispanic, and immigrant parents said someone would be a bad citizen if the person makes a point never to stand up when the national anthem is played; 52% of black parents gave this response. Around 50% of all parents said someone would be a bad citizen if he or she is able to vote but never does. Parents were equally divided about political interest- 48% said a person with no interest in the issues facing the country would be a bad citizen,…