Walk through the streets of Atlanta, Los Angeles, or Kansas City right now and you'll see something that feels entirely foreign to modern American politics. Millions of international soccer fans have flooded the country for the 2026 World Cup. They're singing in the streets, draped in their national colors, and displaying a fierce, unapologetic love for their homelands.
It's loud. It's joyful. It's completely unburdened by the bitter culture wars that have paralyzed American civic life for a generation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson looked at this spectacle and saw a stark, painful contrast. During a recent media appearance, the top Republican pointed directly at these visiting sports fans to deliver a sharp rebuke to his own country. He noted that international visitors seem to harbor a deeper, more vibrant appreciation for their nations than many Americans currently do for the United States.
It's a provocative argument. It cuts straight to the core of a quiet crisis brewing across the country. We've managed to turn patriotism into a partisan weapon rather than a shared foundation.
The Contrast on the Streets
Johnson's observation hits on a visible reality. If you watch a crowd of Argentinian, Scottish, or Japanese fans celebrate, their national pride isn't a political statement. It's a baseline identity. They aren't litigating their government's tax policies or supreme court decisions while chanting in a stadium. They're just proud of where they come from.
In America, that kind of simple, unifying pride feels increasingly rare.
We've split into two distinct, dysfunctional camps when it comes to national identity. On one side, elite cultural institutions, universities, and progressive spaces often treat American history exclusively through the lens of its flaws, sins, and historical failures. It's a viewpoint that replaces pride with permanent skepticism. On the other side, conservative populism has frequently weaponized the flag, turning patriotism into a rigid loyalty test used to exclude political opponents.
When one half of a country thinks the nation is fundamentally broken and the other half thinks only they are the true citizens, genuine patriotism dies. The result is a society suffering from a profound crisis of self-doubt.
What Washington Gets Wrong About National Pride
While Speaker Johnson diagnosed the symptom correctly, his scolding misses the deeper institutional failure. Americans didn't just wake up one day and decide to stop loving their country. That affection was eroded by decades of political cynicism coming directly from Washington.
For years, politicians on both sides of the aisle discovered that fear and division are incredibly effective fundraising tools. It's much easier to turn out voters by telling them their neighbors are trying to destroy the country than it is to build a shared national narrative.
Look at the data. Gallup tracking polls over the last few years have shown pride in the U.S. hovering near historic lows, particularly among younger generations. But this isn't a lack of moral character. It's a rational reaction to a political system that treats everything as a zero-sum war.
When every national event, from a pandemic response to a supreme court ruling, is immediately dragged into the mud of partisan theater, you can't blame regular people for feeling disconnected from the grand American experiment. The visiting World Cup fans have it easy. Their national identity isn't constantly being held hostage by a cable news cycle.
Reclaiming a Healthier Civic Identity
Scolding people into feeling patriotic has never worked. It just breeds more resentment. If leadership wants to see Americans display the same unbridled enthusiasm as international soccer fans, the approach needs to change entirely.
We need to realize that true patriotism isn't blind worship of the state, nor is it a refusal to admit historical mistakes. It's an active commitment to the ideals of the founding. It's understanding that the American experiment is a radical, ongoing project of self-governance.
To build that back up, we have to stop treating political disagreements as existential battles. Disagreeing on marginal tax rates, healthcare policy, or environmental regulations shouldn't make someone an enemy of the state. It just makes them a participant in a democracy.
Practical Steps to Build Back Unity
Rebuilding national confidence won't happen through speeches on Capitol Hill. It happens on the ground, away from the political cameras. Here's where we actually start.
- Log off the outrage machine: The most immediate thing you can do is disconnect from partisan media ecosystems designed to make you hate your fellow citizens. Local communities are rarely as divided as the internet claims they are.
- Invest in local civic spaces: Real unity is built by working alongside people who don't share your voting record. Volunteer for local initiatives, youth sports leagues, or neighborhood associations where the focus is on a shared goal rather than a political platform.
- Promote an honest view of history: Stop choosing between a whitewashed mythology and a narrative of pure cynicism. We can acknowledge the deep flaws and historic sins of the United States while still celebrating the radical, enduring brilliance of its foundational blueprint.
The international fans chanting in our stadiums understand something we've forgotten. National pride isn't about perfection. It's about belonging to something bigger than yourself. If we want that feeling back, we have to stop waiting for Washington to fix it and start building it at home.
