A recent YouGov poll asked Americans, “What makes an American?”
The most agreed-upon characteristic?
“Obeys US laws.”
Not my first choice, but not a bad one. At least it makes sense.
The second most commonly agreed-upon characteristic is “Supports the U.S. Constitution” — something that 86 percent of respondents believe is “Very important” or “Somewhat important” to being considered an American.
“Supports the U.S. Constitution” would’ve been my first choice, so I’m happy to see it rates so high, but I can’t help but wonder what the other 16% of Americans are thinking when it comes to the Constitution.
They don’t think the U.S. Constitution is a good idea? They don’t believe in the Bill of Rights?
Were they hoping to bear even more arms?
Enjoy less religious freedom?
Or maybe they find it ridiculous that two US states have fewer people than Washington, DC, yet residents of the District of Columbia have no representation in Congress.
Maybe some of the 16% who don’t support the Constitution reside in Washington, DC, which would at least make sense. If I were an American who didn’t have a Representative or Senator serving my interests in Congress, I’d be annoyed with the Constitution, too. When Wyoming has 20% fewer people than Washington, DC, but has two Senators and one Representative in Congress, and Washingtonians have none, the Constitution has a problem that needs correcting.
Despite this, it’s still a pretty fabulous document.
Here’s the most disturbing finding in the poll:
18% of Americans identify “Being white” as a necessary characteristic of being American.
That’s a hell of a lot of racists.
And this isn’t the kind of implicit racism that makes a person fine with black or brown people as long as they don’t live next door.
It’s not the kind of racism that enrages a person to learn that a black or brown person has received some sort of preferential treatment because their great-great-great-grandparents were owned like livestock, except they were also routinely raped and murdered, so perhaps they and their family didn’t have the same opportunity as white people to accumulate generational wealth.
No, these aren’t the subtle racists. These are real, honest-to-goodness bigots. These are the monsters who say, “If you’re not white, you’re not a real American.”
In other words, white supremacists, though I suspect many would bristle at that accurate label.
The breakdown of these numbers is also telling:
Three percent of Democrats think “Being white” is very important, and four percent think it’s somewhat important.
That’s 7% of Americans who believe this awful thing.
Conversely, 20% percent of Republicans think “Being white” is very important, and 11% think it’s somewhat important.
This means that almost one in three Republicans view “Being white” as an important characteristic of being American, which is to say:
What the hell has happened to the Republican Party?
Since when did explicit racism become a dominant feature of the GOP?
On a positive note, two-thirds of the Republican Party believe that non-white citizens should also be thought of as Americans, which is admittedly a low bar, but it’s apparently an important one, at least today.
Sadly, the 18% of all Americans who believe you need to be white to be American — and the 31% of Republicans who believe this — have always existed, and they will likely exist for a long time. But there was a time, not so long ago, when these hateful, ignorant monsters mostly lived under rocks, keeping their vile and stupid beliefs to themselves and their other hateful little bigots.
Today, this kind of racism is more openly expressed thanks to the transformation of the Republican Party and, in some ways, a large swath of America, by the MAGA movement.
This isn’t to say that most Republicans are racists. I have many friends who are registered Republicans and are good, decent people.
But if a Republican attends a GOP rally or political convention and looks to their left and right, they should know that one of those two people standing beside them will likely be a racist who believes “Being white” is an essential part of being American.
At least according to the poll.
As someone who thinks two rational, productive political parties are good for American democracy, this is a problem in desperate need of a solution.
