According to the writer, a confessed millennial, this lack of patriotism has several causes:
- Millennials consider themselves citizens of the world, rather that citizens of the United States.
- Millennials do not believe in American exceptionalism - we are not the Greatest Country in the World.
- Millennials are less likely to identify with political parties, churches, or other affiliations.
It sounds to me like the whole issue is a matter of pride, or lack thereof.
If a person takes no pride in their own nation - it's history, it's values, it's people - then it means nothing to them. I compare this to a person who is given everything in life, never having to pay for anything. All that they receive is worth exactly what they've put into it - nothing. Consequently, it's all disposable; when you're tired of it, simply discard it.
Sadly, that sentiment spreads to far more the material things. It often extends to jobs, relationships, people, even their own children. And if you don't place value in those things, then your own country will fall even further in your list of "important things" in life.
In a world, or nation, where those things that previous generations placed so much value on - country, family, God - now mean nothing, then there's nothing worth fighting to keep. Let's all just toss it away.
If that's the prevalent opinion by today's young adults, then this great nation, yes, the Greatest on Earth, will simply be overrun by someone willing to value it for what it is, be it foreign or domestic.
In the words of one of our more patriotic songs, "God Bless America".
