Mayor Eric Adams paid homage to the fallen soldiers who died while serving in the U.S. military during a Memorial Day speech on Monday while bemoaning what he described as the lack of patriotism among the nation’s youth during a speech aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid docked on the Hudson River in midtown Manhattan.
Adams’ short speech aboard the retired aircraft carrier-turned-museum was the first of four events for the mayor during the Monday holiday, which commemorates all those who died serving in the armed forces at home and abroad.“
We have a good product. That is why everyone wants to come here, and no one wants to leave here,” the mayor told the assembled crowd on the deck of the aircraft carrier-turned-museum. “This is a great country. Don’t let anyone fool you or believe that it’s not. Don’t allow anyone to take away what we represent.”
He continued: “This is the only country on the globe with a dream attached to its name: No German dream, no French dream, no Polish dream; but, dammit, there’s an American dream.”
Adams decried what he described as the declining patriotism among younger generations, citing a poll conducted by Gallup last year that showed 38 percent of Americans described themselves as “extremely proud” to be American.
“I want to be extremely clear and loud as the mayor of the largest city in America that I’m a part of the 38 percenters,” he told the group.
The number cited by Adams did not include the 27 percent who told pollsters they were “very proud” to be American, which would bring the number up to 65 percent — which is still a 25-point drop from the 90 percent-plus found in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th terror attacks.
The pollsters noted that the survey, which was conducted in 2022, came in the aftermath of the horrific mass shootings at an elementary school in Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, which killed more than 40 people combined.
It also came in the midst of eye-popping inflation, triggered in part by the massive jump in energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.
After the speech at the Intrepid, Adams headed uptown lay a wreath at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Upper West Side, which is now set to undergo a $62 million city-funded renovation.
“America doesn’t lose. We do not run. We do not hide. We defend,” he told those assembled there. “And we are resilient every day of our lives.”
