Last week, I noted that 83% of voters share my belief that America’s founding ideals are worth fighting for. On top of that, 85% think it’s accurate to describe America’s founding ideals as freedom, equality and self-governance. Seventy-three percent believe those ideals provide a good foundation for bringing people together and unifying the nation.

Unfortunately, though, just 30% of voters say our nation is doing a good or an excellent job of living up to those ideals. Even worse, looking forward a generation or so, only a third of voters (33%) believe we’ll draw closer to living out those noble ideals.

One reason for the pessimism is that just 53% of voters think most Americans believe in those ideals. Think about that for a moment. Eighty-three percent (83%) of voters believe that the founding ideals are worth fighting for, but just 53% think most Americans support those ideals.