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Pledge of Allegiance for June 27: Griffin at Eastover Central

The BIG 95.7 WKML is proud to present the Pledge of Allegiance every single weekday morning at 7 a.m. Today’s Pledge is presented by Griffin at Eastover Central Elementary School….

Annual New York City Veterans Day Parade Marches Along Fifth Avenue

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The BIG 95.7 WKML is proud to present the Pledge of Allegiance every single weekday morning at 7 a.m. Today’s Pledge is presented by Griffin at Eastover Central Elementary School. Thank you very much for helping us out. Listen below!

KML is proud to support the Red, White and Blue, and presents the Pledge of Allegiance daily thanks to our partners at Central Electric Membership Corporation. Check here to see all of our Pledge archive.

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Does North Carolina Fall Short as a Patriotic State in 2023?

Independence Day is coming soon, and for those of us in North Carolina, being patriotic seems to be second nature.

But it turns out, maybe Tarheels aren't as patriotic as we though.

Our friends at WalletHub say that North Carolina actually comes in at No. 22 when it comes to the most patriotic states. That's a drop from being 17th in patriotism last year.

North Carolina still ranks highly in military engagement, coming in at sixth overall. But civic engagement dropped from 32 to 38 in the last year.

WalletHub measured 13 key patriotic indicators for the study, including military enlistees, veteran population, voting percentages, and even AmeriCorps volunteer numbers.

"Patriotism can be expressed in many ways and there should be no imposed standard. We are a nation of individuals," Donald Critchlow, a professor at Arizona State University, said in the study. "Critical to any expression of patriotism needs to begin with the understanding that our experiment in democracy is unique in human history and fragile. Patriotic Americans understand the sacrifice of life and limb that has been given by our soldiers to protect our freedoms; our first responders, including police on the street, protect us and make it safe."

Here's the way that WalletHub measured everything to determine this list. Take a look below for the top 5 and bottom 5 states in the patriotic rankings for 2023.

Military Engagement – Total Points: 25

    Civic Engagement – Total Points: 75

      Top 5 States

      1. Virginia

      Illinois v Virginia

      The Virginia Cavaliers marching band performs as an American flag is displayed to commemorate 9/11. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)

      Total Score: 61.01

      Military Engagement: 3

      Civic Engagement: 8

      2. Montana

      Total Score: 59.63

      Military Engagement: 22

      Civic Engagement: 3

      3. Alaska

      Total Score: 57.98

      Military Engagement: 1

      Civic Engagement: 24

      4. North Dakota

      Total Score: 56.33

      Military Engagement: 20

      Civic Engagement: 7

      5. Maine

      Total Score: 56.08

      Military Engagement: 20

      Civic Engagement: 7

      Bottom 5 States

      46. Florida

      Total Score: 32.91

      Military Engagement: 19

      Civic Engagement: 49

      47. New York

      Total Score: 32.84

      Military Engagement: 49

      Civic Engagement: 27

      48. Rhode Island

      Total Score: 32.68

      Military Engagement: 40

      Civic Engagement: 36

      49. Massachusetts

      Total Score: 30.49

      Military Engagement: 50

      Civic Engagement: 34

      50. Arkansas

      Total Score: 26.87

      Military Engagement: 29

      Civic Engagement: 50