Quinnipiac Ukraine Poll: Fight or Flight, a measure of patriotism? by Felicia Tweedy

There has been much talk about the recent Quinnipiac Poll, of which this question in particular was the focus: “If Americans were in the same position as Ukrainians are now, do you think that you would stay and fight or leave the country?“ The results: More  Republicans than Democrats would stay and fight, 68% to 40%. 

When I first read this poll, my knee jerk reaction was a partisan one, which was echoed in the media. “Of course more Republicans would stay. They are stereotypically more patriotic. Woke liberals don’t like American.” 

But I stopped and I thought more on the question. Why is this poll even being taken right now? What is it’s purpose or agenda? Isn’t this a hypothetical question where those polled can only speculate on? It’s a lot different than asking someone for whom they plan to vote. 

At a time where the Country needs to be united, and largely is, against what is happening in Ukraine, we get these kind of polls which seek to divide us on partisan lines. I’m not accusing Quinnipiac of doing anything nefarious, that was only one question amongst a larger poll. The media though, glommed right onto this one question and ignored the questions about Putin, Zelensky or even whether the US should take in Ukrainian refugees. Nowadays, what gets the attention is what is partisan and what divides us. We cannot seem to help the tribalism, even in times like this. 

As we sit in the precipice of possible world war, we need to resist seeing everything through a partisan lens. In fact, such extreme tribalism, in the last decade, was increased by Russian disinformation aimed at dividing the nation. As a Nation, we are largely unified in rallying against Russia, yet we continue to give them another win in their covert war against the United States. And that’s what it is. Russia has been at war with the United States for decades even if we haven’t recognized it. 

I know when many conservatives hear “Russia disinformation” they immediately think of the Russia Trump collusion narrative and do not want to hear anything more. The Trump-Russia collusion is the way some in our government decided to interpret the intelligence, for partisan gain, but that doesn’t mean that the intelligence on face value is false. There truly was a Russian disinformation campaign that was enacted on the United States and intelligence proves that. Russia’s goal was to stoke racial and partisan divides and to get the Country, who by nature is wary of  government power, corruption and overreach, to distrust our institutions. Our elections being one of them. Russia was taking advantage of whatever opportunities they got to undermine the election, not tilt it in favor of either candidate. Their goal was to disrupt.  And, Russia’s efforts have been and  continue to be highly successful. When we play into this division, we are giving Russia a win. 

Back to the poll itself – what does this poll really tell us?

Is it really reflecting truth or is it fortune telling? In my view, the only people polled who can really answer the question of “what would you do” are those here from a war torn Country, or those who have served in combat. A vast majority of people in the United States have been very sheltered in comparison to many parts of the World. They have never been near a war, let alone to know what they would do in the midst of one. It’s very easy for someone to say “yeah of course I would stay and fight,” but until confronted with such a moment, one really doesn’t know how they would react. Some who say they would fight, might flee and viceversa. That question is basically a test of patriotism which is easier to gauge when not being shot at or running from bombs. 

Also with a poll like that, we need more information on the people being polled. I looked at the data and while it breaks down based on age, sex, and political party, it doesn’t state how many of the women are mothers, or how many people in the survey have a disability, or are caretakers. That could make a huge difference in such a question. A mom who would flee to protect her kids doesn’t mean she’s less patriotic than someone who is single and stays. Also, people who are not militarily trained or have never  handled a  firearm might choose to flee because they doubt their abilities to fight, not because they don’t love their Country. 

On the flipside, there are many who would answer that they would, without a doubt, stay to fight but when faced with bombs going off and dead bodies on the ground, would quickly change their minds. It’s one thing to see the horrible footage we see on TV and to be there in person when your life, and the lives of your loved ones, are at risk. 

Bottom line, we just don’t know how we would handle such a thing and hopefully we never will. 

We have some dark days ahead, not just in witnessing the horrors, but should this war spill over the borders of Ukraine, our world will change overnight. We need to focus less on partisan polls aimed to pit us against each other, and more on coming together as a Nation. A divided America is weak.  A united America is strong. We can’t forget that even when we are baited to engage in tribalism, as tempting as it may be…………