The algorithms have spoken and show Florida's level of patriotism is not so gallantly streaming — but some of the measures in a recent study are stacked against the Sunshine State in ways that have nothing to do with Floridians' pride of country.
Florida is ranked 46th out of the 50 states in the level of red, white and blue spirit running through it, according to the findings of WalletHub. The personal finance website crunched the numbers on 13 key indicators. Only New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Arkansas had less pride to be an American than Florida.
Key metrics were voter turnout, civic education requirements, jury duty participation and military engagement.
Clearly, fireworks being shot off is not a consideration in this ranking.
WalletHub compared the 50 states in two categories, military engagement, and civic engagement. Scoring perfectly, a state could earn 25 points for the former and 75 points for the latter.
Florida scored in the top half for heeding the call to arms: 19th in military engagement. The study measured that number by scoring according to the number of military enlistees, veterans and active-duty military per 1,000 civilian adults, along with the share of the civilian adult population in the military reserves.
But the study rated civic engagement as having three times the importance of military engagement and, in that, Florida was 49th, likely dragged down by having the lowest volunteer rate in the country.
And some ways the study measured civic engagement were slanted against the Sunshine State.
The share of adults who voted in the 2020 Primary Elections was in the second-most important category for rating civic engagement and, in that measure, making circumstances that have nothing to do with civic pride a factor.
Florida is among seven states with closed Primary Elections, so those with no party affiliation would not be able to vote in the Primary, thus dragging the share of voters participating in Primaries down.
The volunteer rate is one of the smallest points of consideration in the scoring but the number getting out there puts Florida dead last among the 50 states. The biggest state of volunteerism — Utah — volunteers at three times Florida's rate, the statistics gathered from a number of sources spelled out.
The five states the study determined to be the most patriotic in the country — Virginia, Montana, Alaska, North Dakota and Maine — wouldn't seem to have much in common.
The study drew one broad assertion about the results, however.
Left-leaning states are more patriotic than right-leaning ones.
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