I’m a Gallup responder myself. I’m extremely proud to be an American with this proviso: the America I once knew, the one I’m proud of, is gone.
But the Americans I’m proud to be among— are still here, for a while longer. And I intend to make the most of THAT.
Proud of the country or proud of the government? Easy to conflate the two, depending on how the question is asked.
You are exactly correct. I am proud of my flag. I abhor what that flag repesents today. I will fight to return what that flag once represented.