Military support

A recent Gallup poll asking how much confidence respondents have in American institutions put the military at the top and Congress at the bottom of a list of 17. The military has ranked first in all but one year since 1989. Prior to that, church or organized religion typically placed first.

The military 74%

Small business 62%

The police 53%

The church or organized religion 45%

The medical system 34%

The U.S. Supreme Court 30%

The presidency 29%

Public schools 26%

Banks 26%

The health care system 23%

The criminal justice system 23%

Newspapers 22%

Organized labor 22%

Big business 21%

News on the Internet 19%

Television news 18%

Congress 7%