OPINION: This 4th will be least patriotic in decades

This weekend, America turns 244 years old, and around the country, millions of people are set to celebrate. But for a growing number of Americans, the country celebrating its independence is no longer a tradition they’re proud of. 

This Fourth of July weekend will be the least patriotic in decades. 

Perhaps more than ever, Americans have grown to view our country as a source of shame, rather than pride. A country with more things to apologize for than to boast about. 

Nowhere is this trend more noticeable than with young Americans. Recent polling from Harvard and Gallup show the lowest levels of patriotism on record, with 38 percent of college students saying they aren’t patriotic. For Americans aged 18 to 29, the number of those considering themselves patriotic has been cut in half in the past three years. 

[RELATED: VIDEO: Young Americans know nothing about 4th of July]

Spend an hour watching the news or listening to the ever-growing cacophony of the outrage mob, and you’ll quickly understand why people feel such things toward this great country. 

No single person or institution, however, has had a larger impact on the decreasing levels of patriotism than higher education. For the past decade, our colleges and universities have been churning out millions of graduates indoctrinated into believing they live in an oppressive country founded on genocide and white supremacy. 

The days of American Exceptionalism being taught in class are long gone. Those courses have been replaced with revisionist history lessons that magnify our nation’s greatest flaws and ignore our greatest strengths. Rather than teaching students the reality--that we live in the freest, most equitable society in all of human history-- schools choose to deceive students into thinking the legacy of their country is one to be ashamed of. 

Pop into a history class at the University of Texas-Austin and you might hear how the Constitution should be scrapped because of its “racist” language. At Syracuse University, you’ll be told that the Constitution is “exclusionary” to some students and might offend. 

[RELATED: Syracuse U: U.S. Constitution is ‘exclusionary’ to some students]

Stop by Colorado State University and you’ll be warned against using the word “American” because it’s “non-inclusive.” 

At the University of California-Santa Cruz, you’ll receive emails from the University chancellor telling you America is a “white supremacist society” while at the University of Washington the president will tell you the “cornerstone of all U.S. social institutions” is “white privilege and systemic racism.”

If you want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, avoid the University of Oklahoma, where the student government recently voted to remove it because of its “problematic” history. 

Head down to the University of Alabama and you’ll hear from the Dean of Students that the American Flag is a symbol of racism, not freedom.

If you’re feeling the urge to shout “FREEDOM” at the top of your lungs, you’ll want to avoid Robert Morris University. The school recently decided to change the name of their student IDs, known as “Freedom Cards,” after students said referring to them as such could make students of color feel “dehumanized.”

[RELATED: College removes word ‘freedom’ from ID cards after student demands citing slavery]

After being told each day in class that our nation’s founding and history is shameful, it’s easy to see how an impressionable 20-something might be hesitant to express pride in America. 

Having interviewed thousands of college students during my time at Campus Reform, I’ve seen firsthand how desperately they want to appear “woke” and “anti-racist.” To them, endorsing America would mean endorsing racism, not the country that’s done more to eradicate inequality and oppression than any other in modern history. 

As long as our colleges and universities mislead students into believing America is an evil nation of racism and genocide, patriotism will continue to dwindle and future generations won’t think our way of life is anything worth preserving. 

If that happens, we won’t need to teach American Exceptionalism in class, because America will no longer be exceptional. 

Cabot Phillips is the Editor-in-Chief of Campus Reform.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Cabot_Phillips