Zero Hedge — In Latest Poll, Americans Can't Even Agree What It Means To be An American

As if there was not enough dividing America right now - Left/Right, Male/Female/Other, Black/White, Muslin/Non-Muslim, or Gay/Straight/Other - AP finds in its latest poll that Americans can't even agree on what it means to be an American.

A new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds Republicans are far more likely to cite a culture grounded in Christian beliefs and the traditions of early European immigrants as essential to U.S. identity. Democrats are more apt to point to the country's history of mixing of people from around the globe and a tradition of offering refuge to the persecuted. While there's disagreement on what makes up the American identity, 7 in 10 people — regardless of party — say the country is losing that identity.

Are Americans essentially WASPs or is America a melting pot?

The results reflect long-standing differences in the U.S. between one camp's desire for openness and diversity and another's vision of the country grounded in the white, English-speaking, Protestant traditions of its early settlers.

Zero Hedge
In Latest Poll, Americans Can't Even Agree What It Means To be An AmericanTyler Durden