62% of Americans see courage in their own communities; just 30% see it in Washington. Two-thirds say elected officials are less courageous than they were 20 years ago, while 79% say courage from elected leaders is vital to the nation’s future.
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new national survey from With Honor and Gallup released June 24 finds that Americans have not lost faith in courage. They see it in their neighborhoods, their families, and those who serve. What they have stopped seeing — and what they say has been fading for two decades — is courage in Washington.
The With Honor–Gallup survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults reveals a striking divide. Sixty-two percent say people in their own communities demonstrate courage in their actions. Just 30% say the same of elected leaders – a 32-point gap. When asked which groups they most associate with courage, Americans put first responders (60%) and military personnel (41%) at the top with elected leaders near the bottom.
Yet the survey’s most striking finding may be what Americans still agree on. Ninety-six percent say it is important for everyday citizens to act with courage; 95% say the same of elected officials. What makes them most optimistic about America’s future? Not our freedoms, our diversity, or our innovation, but people willing to stand up for what they believe is right.
Courage also runs close to home. Seven in ten Americans say someone’s courage has personally inspired them, usually someone in their own life rather than a public figure. The people they name most are friends, parents, and family members.
Three years ago, before this survey existed, Rye Barcott started writing about the leaders who are the exception. A Marine veteran and co-founder of With Honor, Barcott spent years profiling ten elected officials — five Democrats and five Republicans — who had taken principled stands at real personal cost. What he found mirrors what the survey now confirms: courage in public life hasn’t vanished. It’s just rare enough to be remarkable.
“Americans haven’t given up on courage. They see it in their neighbors, their parents, their friends — they just don’t see it in Washington,” said Barcott. “These ten leaders are proof that it still exists in public life. On the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, the invitation is for all of us: to choose courage, to choose service, and in doing so, to shape the nation we want to live in.”
Americans also understand that courage comes at a cost. Forty-four percent say they would be concerned about negative consequences for publicly disagreeing with people on their own side — their party, their faith community, their profession, or their friends. Forty-six percent say doing so takes significant or extraordinary courage. Those concerns are nearly identical across party lines. Among veterans, the numbers shift: military veterans report notably less fear of speaking up than non-veterans.
Courage Can Save US (Bloomsbury, June 9, 2026) is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. All author proceeds go to With Honor.
Americans are invited to share a story of courage from their own lives — a Courage Moment — at couragecansaveus.com.
Key Findings
- 62% of Americans see courage in their own communities; just 30% see it in elected leaders.
- 96% say it is important for everyday Americans to act with courage; 95% say the same of elected officials.
- 26% identify people willing to stand up for what they believe is right as their top source of optimism about America’s future — ranking ahead of our freedoms, diversity, innovation, and economic strength.
- 70% say someone’s courage has personally inspired them — most often someone they know personally.
- First responders (60%) and military personnel (41%) rank highest among groups Americans associate with courage. Elected leaders rank near the bottom.
- Roughly two-thirds believe elected officials show less courage today than they did 20 years ago.
- 44% say they would be concerned about negative consequences for publicly disagreeing with people on their own side; 46% say doing so takes significant or extraordinary courage — at nearly identical rates across party lines.
About Courage Can Save US
Courage Can Save US (Bloomsbury, June 9, 2026) is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. It profiles ten leaders in public life — five Democrats and five Republicans — who have taken principled stands at personal cost. All author proceeds go to With Honor. Available wherever books are sold. Learn more at couragecansaveus.com.
About With Honor
With Honor is a cross-partisan organization that fights polarization by supporting principled veteran leadership in public office. Learn more at withhonor.org.
About the Survey
Results are based on a With Honor–Gallup web survey conducted May 12–22, 2026, with a random sample of 3,199 U.S. adults, members of the Gallup Panel. The margin of sampling error is ±2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Media Contact: Susan Forbes, forbes@withhonor.org
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SOURCE With Honor Action
