Poll: Age is a bigger influence than political affiliation when it comes to Americans’ views on 9/11

Yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of 9/11 and many Americans share the same feelings as those across the political aisle.

A recent poll has shown that younger Americans don’t have as strong a connection to the event and don’t possess the same unity as older citizens do, according to a new poll by More In Common in partnership with YouGov.

The poll also found a subtle difference in the outlook when it came to patriotism, safety and Islamophobia following the 9/11 attacks. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. adults, including 72% of Democrats and 50% of all other Americans, said they associate the post-9/11 period with Muslim Americans being discriminated against.

However, 73% of adults, including a sizeable number of Democrats and Republicans, remember the time fondly and say it was a time when America was united. In an equal polling, 63% Democrats and Republicans associate the era with politicians on both sides of the spectrum working together.

However, those numbers dropped for younger Americans. While over half of seniors described America post 9/11 as “united”, only 22% of millennials and 21% of Gen Z adults said they would choose “united” to describe that period.

When asked if 9/11 changed their lives, 56% of respondents, including 60% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans, said that it did.

59 percent of millennials, who were between the ages of 5 and 20 in 2001, answered yes — a rate higher than Gen Z (37%), Gen X (54%) and the Silent Generation (56%). Only Baby Boomers (61%) were more likely to say the event changed their lives.

When asked what Americans are supposed to “never forget” about 9/11, clear majorities of Republicans and Democrats noted the victims and their families, and the heroic responses and sacrifices made by first responders. However, when it came to millennials and Gen Z adults, they were more likely to answer “I don’t know.”

“9/11 remains one of the most significant events many Americans have experienced,” said Dan Vallone, director for More in Common USA. “But it is receding into history for younger Americans.

“We need to involve younger Americans more in the process of creating memories and lessons from 9/11. If we want to try and build stronger shared memories of the attacks and what we should learn from them, it will not be enough to tell younger Americans about that period, from the vantage point of older Americans,” he said.

This year’s anniversary of the attacks comes just a few weeks after one of the 9/11 museums in Lower Manhattan ceased trading for good. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum are still open.