Story perspectives

America's Identity Crisis: Civic Values vs. Ethnonationalism

11/4/2025

Summary

Story summary

The United States faces a major ideological battle over national identity, pitting a civic view from the Declaration of Independence against ethnonationalist priorities.
The ethnonationalist view, supported by Vice President JD Vance, argues that only certain ancestries define American identity.
Recent polls show a majority favor the civic narrative over ethnonationalism.
But rising political violence and extreme partisanship threaten the civic vision, with many Americans fearing more violence and assassinations.

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Story summary

The United States faces a major ideological battle over national identity, pitting a civic view from the Declaration of Independence against ethnonationalist priorities.
The ethnonationalist view, supported by Vice President JD Vance, argues that only certain ancestries define American identity.
Recent polls show a majority favor the civic narrative over ethnonationalism.
But rising political violence and extreme partisanship threaten the civic vision, with many Americans fearing more violence and assassinations.