Ignorance of civics a threat to America's freedom

Ripped from the wires ... Walter Williams offers one explanation for the current deplorable state of America's institutions:

BY WALTER E. WILLIAMS

How about a few civics questions? Name the three branches of government. If you answered the executive, legislative and judicial, you are more informed than 50 percent of Americans. The Delaware-based Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) recently released the results of their national survey titled "Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions.'' The survey questions were not rocket science.

Only 21 percent of survey respondents knew that the phrase "government of the people, by the people, for the people.'' comes from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Almost 40 percent incorrectly believe the Constitution gives the president the power to declare war. Only 27 percent know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States. Remarkably, close to 25 percent of Americans believe that Congress shares its foreign policy powers with the United Nations.

Among the total of 33 questions asked, others included: "Who is the commander in chief of the U S. military?'' "Name two countries that were our enemies during World War II.'' "Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?'' Of the 2,508 nationwide samples of Americans taking ISI's civic literacy test, 71 percent failed; the average score on the test was 49 percent.

ISI findings about cultural illiteracy and academic incompetence are nothing new. A 1990 Gallup survey for the National Endowment of the Humanities, given to a representative sample of 700 college seniors, found that 25 percent did not know that Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere before the year 1500; 42 percent could not place the Civil War in the correct half-century; and 31 percent thought Reconstruction came after World War II.

In 1993, a Department of Education survey found that among college graduates 50 percent of whites and more than 80 percent of blacks couldn't state in writing the argument made in a newspaper column; 56 percent could not calculate the right tip; 57 percent could not figure out how much change they should get back after putting down $3.00 to pay for a 60-cent bowl of soup and a $1.95 sandwich, and over 90 percent could not use a calculator to find the cost of carpeting a room. But not to worry. A 1999 survey taken by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni of seniors at the nation's top 55 liberal-arts colleges and universities found that 98 percent could identify rap artist Snoop Dogg and Beavis and Butt-Head, but only 34 percent knew George Washington was the general at the battle of Yorktown.

With limited thinking abilities and knowledge of our heritage, we Americans set ourselves up as easy prey for charlatans, hustlers and quacks. If we don't know the constitutional limits placed on Congress and the White House, politicians can do just about anything they wish to control our lives, from deciding what kind of light bulbs we can use to whether the government can take over our health care system or bailout failing businesses. We just think Congress can do anything upon which they can get a majority vote.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has one finding that I find both a bit perplexing but encouraging. Roughly 70 percent of Americans, even those who failed the test, agreed that our history, culture and institutions are important and should be taught to our college students. They might even agree with Thomas Jefferson who warned, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.''

Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Comments?

Comments

[Richard L. Wolfe]

I wonder how many think there is a " wall " of seperation in the Bill Of Rights?

[Nick]

Alright, I'll answer a few.

"Who is the commander in chief of the U S. military?"
The President

"Name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."
Germany, Japan

"Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?"
Oooh. Hmmm, thinking. I'll go with Post Office. It's federal!

"Almost 40 percent incorrectly believe the Constitution gives the president the power to declare war."
I hope Bush isn't part of that 40%.

"Only 27 percent know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States."
I just have a feeling that number is less.

[Richard L. Wolfe]

I wonder how many, including the media, know that the legislative branch is suppose to write laws not the judicial branch?

[Richard L. Wolfe]

Nick, the left tends to only quote half of the statement concerning religion in the first amendment so I capitalize the second part for easy reading.

" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; " I still do not see the word " wall " in there anywhere. Can you help me find it? Maybe, my copy of the Constitution is too old and tattered?

[Mack the knife]

Here is one......

Senator Luke Rankin and Senator Lindsey Graham work together. Or ever heard anyone ask, "Who are you going to vote for Jim Demint or Dick Elliot"? Which one gets paid more, one of these four guys or the governor? Or two of these guys?

I heard something close to that. If I told you who it is....they said they'd sue me. But with the bliss that comes with ignorance....never mind. We all get blissful at times, I guess.

[Denney Clements]

Richard: Well, I wonder how many know that ever since Marbury v. Madison in 1803, the Supreme Court has had the right to review federal laws for constitutionality. http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/home.html

Also, how many know that the 14th Amendment after the Civil War extended the high court's purview to include review of laws passed by the states. That's basic civics, too.

dc

[Root]

How many of you know that the pledge of allegiance was written in 1892 and published by the vice president of the Society of the Christian Socialists 'Francis Bellamy'.

Francis was kicked out of Bethany Baptist church in Boston due to his socialist activities, he then joined Daniel Ford's family magazine who published the piece in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America and to promote the use of the flag in the public schools which the magazine sold since 1888.

The original piece stated, "I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands -- one nation indivisible -- with liberty and justice for all."

This program and its pledge appeared in the September 8 issue of *Youth's* *Companion*. He considered putting the words "fraternity" and "equality" in the Pledge but decided they were too radical and controversial for public schools.

The original Pledge was recited while giving a stiff, uplifted right hand salute, criticized and discontinued during WWII. The words "my flag" were changed to "the flag of the United States of America" because it was feared that the children of immigrants might confuse "my flag" for the flag of their homeland. The phrase, "Under God," was added by Congress and President Eisenhower in 1954 at the urging of the Knights of Columbus.

The American Legion's constitution includes the following goal: "To foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism." One of its major standing committees was the "Americanism Commission" and its subsidiary, the "Counter Subversive Activities Committee." To the fear of immigrants, it added the fear of communism.

Over the years the Legion has worked closely with the NEA and with the US Office of Education. The Legion insisted on "one hundred percent" Americanism in public school courses in American history, civics,
geography and English. The Pledge was a part of this Americanism campaign and, in 1950, the Legion adopted the Pledge as an official part of its own ritual.

In 1922, the Ku Klux Klan, which also had adopted the "one hundred percent Americanism" theme along with the flag ceremonies and the Pledge, became a political power in the state of Oregon and arranged
for legislation to be passes requiring all Catholic children to attend public schools. The US Supreme Court later overturned this legislation.

Perhaps a team of social scientists and historians could explain why over the last century the Pledge of Allegiance has become a major centerpiece in American patriotism programs. A pledge or loyalty oath for children was not built around the Declaration of Independence --
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal..." Or the Gettysburg address -- "a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..."

Apparently, over the last century, Americans have been uncomfortable with the word "equality" as a patriotic theme. In 1992 the nation will begin its second century with the Pledge of Allegiance. Perhaps the time has come to see that this allegiance should be to the US constitution and not to a piece of cloth.

[Richard L. Wolfe]

Denney, that is not civics that's the birth of judicial activism.

[Nick]

Free exercise. Without that, there is no separation.

[Richard L. Wolfe]

Denney, I read the excellent link (thanks)and it says that the Judicial Branch is above the other two branches. Where are the checks and balances? In fact if you accept Marshall's weak argument then taken to the extreme, the court could declare the Constitution itself unconstitutional.

Having read the entire link, I would have to say the only one who understood the Constitution was Jefferson.

[Richard L. Wolfe]

Exactly Nick! The Jews could have their prayers, the Moslems, the Christians, the Atheist, the Secular Humanist, etc. could all exercise their God given rights!

[Sunny Fry]

Madison and Hamilton understood the Constitution. And here's the thing.

Lots of it is intentionally vague, for political reasons.

Madison wanted the federal government to have the power to veto state laws, because he thought the biggest danger of tyranny came from local government. It passed the House, but failed in the Senate, and he didn't get his wish until the 14th amendment. Madison also didn't think it a good idea to have a military chaplain or a congressional chaplain, but being of pragmatic bent, limited his objections in that vein to get things he thought more important.

I know everyone gripes about the judicial branch. What I'm seeing overall, though, is an executive branch which has consistently expanded its reach (Clinton issued a record breaking number of executive orders, and despite Congress having sole authority to declare war, we've sure fought a bunch of them without that declaration). I see a legislative branch passing laws which text would fill my house, attempting to curb that power of the executive branch and benefit itself -- and I see a judicial branch answering constitutional questions put to it which, sometimes, have the effect of creating laws ex-nihilo (affirmative action being one).

That IS balance of power. Toss in that biased, obnoxious press, every man-jack of whom would love to be another Woodward and Bernstein, all eager to expose the malfeasance and toe tapping of every cackling denizen roaming the hallowed halls of government, and you have a marvelous, chaotic, impractical, disorderly, but still really workable system. It is a balance of power. If only Americans were a little better educated about how the whole thing works, it would be pretty near perfect.

I'm reminded of Churchill's quote about democracy being the worst form of government in the world -- except for all the rest of them.

[DanielC]

So this article only proves one thing.

The Federal Government mandating the Education of our locally paid (via property taxes) and operated public school systems lack in what should be it's major purpose to the continuation of our Constitutional Republic.

Rockefeller at the turn of the last century stated and wrote that with control of the education the minds of the citizens could be molded to believe whatever truths were presented upon them, thus creating a citizenship that did not question and demand what was given them by their God given rights.

The points you brought up about the courts showed how we lost our checks-n-balances. The Legislative branch has a right and course to overturn the Judical branch and the Executive has the right to throw out Judges that do not uphold and adhere to the Constitution of America.

The Constitution is not a overly complicated document. It was meant to allow a free people to follow and understand and verify that their elected peers were following the law of the lands. And anyone that tells you different is lie'n.

Lawyers misspeak, mislead, and misinterupt the truth to their own ends in 95% of the cases I've reviewed. When you put common sense citizens there using their "higher power" lead life experiences there to judge and not be fearful in their decisions then things seem to work out for all our better in the end. But allow a group to drive the masses towards the rewards of the few will only cause the lose of freedoms for the whole of the citizens.

dsc

[DanielC]

Sunny,

With Obama the non-natural-born-first-president we will surely via the Federal Government hug and adhere to the United Nations mandates to create more wars than Clinton and Bush ever got us in...

The last twenty plus years in our Federal government have given rise to the end of our Constitutional Republic.

I read the other day that some 67m people voted for obama and out of the 306m people in America that represented only 21% of the population selected him as their leader. While this number is a bit off because it lumps all citizens in the 306m and does not take into account the < 18 population it's a stark number of the people that actual give a rats arse about our elections.

That my neighbors and friends is called Apathy.

dsc

[DanielC]

One last point tonight:

Clinton passed a boatload of EOs but I think the figures show that Bush beat Clinton in EOs.

These two corporate controled bankster candidates are whom I address in my last post about putting the final nails in the coffin of the Constitution written and approved 230 years ago.

Does not History show that 200 years about the lifespan of any historically great civilization? So we are right on par with World History to be the next failed experiment taken over by greed.

dsc

[Sunny Fry]

It's interesting you bring up numbers about what percent of people voted for Obama. Juxtaposed with this article on how ignorant college graduates are, I'm reading different articles that talk about how more educated people voted for Obama. Kind of a weird parallel.

Anyhow, Daniel, here's the thing. We'll be okay. The pendulum swings both ways, and every time it edges too far one way or the other. Obama isn't stupid, and any social engineering you fear is greatly hampered by the sheer scale of the slide in the economy.

What I'm trying to tell you is, it will be okay. Here's the nutshell, if you like.

Geography is destiny. America is bounded by two huge oceans, with impoverished and disorganized Mexico to the south and very friendly (if somewhat socialist) Canada to the north. Real external threats to us as a nation don't exist. Hurt? Entirely possible. Destroyed? Never. So scratch one worry off your list.

Two: we started as an experiment, and we're still doing that whole experiment thing. When things don't work, that whole balance of power (with craven people each scrabbling for their own share) works pretty darn well to keep everyone represented. It isn't perfect, and never will be -- but I trust you're a conservative, too, and don't ever expect to create utopia.

We're going to be fine. Know how I know? Because you, and Prefab, and Tom Davis, and Alan, Rick, are all able to freely express your own opinions right here on this little blog. Which means that even if the market for cars and houses is experiencing a downturn, the marketplace of ideas is wide, wide open. As long as that remains true, then the best ideas get a chance to get a little light and air, and flourish.

Oh, yeah. As far as apathy, if they don't care enough to vote, I don't care enough to encourage them. It just makes my vote worth more.

[Patrick Hill]

I am feeling more comfortable with the Obama genius. He really is coming across as wise.

Oh, have you ever been to Washington, DC?

[Nick]

The Roman Republic lasted far longer. Although it was plagued with many wars.
And the Empire lasted about the same amount of time as the Republic, although that split into two.