I find this sort of poll rather odd, people who are totally opposed to what the country is currently doing say they are extremely proud, and people who support what the country is doing say they are not. Does that make any sense?
People are seeing through the question and answering a different question, I believe. That actual question being answered would be, in theory, could you be a patriotic American proud of a strong and free America? (not that there is any chance of having such a country under present circumstances).
But if liberals cannot say yes we are proud of this country as it currently exists, then why do they support these policies? That part makes no sense to me, not that I would support those policies myself.
Good points. It seems like for both sides, “America” refers to something in the past. They could have asked “Are you proud of what America has been?” and “Are you proud of what the US has become?”