Posted on 06/04/2009 10:50:36 PM PDT by fgoodwin
According to a recent study of civics literacy by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute:
* Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America's constitutional system.
* Only 24% of college graduates know the First Amendment prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States.
* Nearly a third of the respondents failed to name two of America's enemies in World War Two; 22% of college graduates did not answer that question successfully.
* 54% of respondents (and only 44% of 18- to 34-year-olds) knew that Congress shares foreign policy power with the President; nearly a quarter (and almost a third of elected officials!) believed Congress shares such power with the United Nations.
* Thirty percent of elected officials do not know that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.
* Only 21% of those surveyed know that the phrase "government of the people, by the people, for the people" comes from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
* Although Congress has voted twice in the last eight years to approve foreign wars, only 53% of those surveyed know that the power to declare war belongs to Congress. Almost 40% incorrectly believe it belongs to the President.
* Less than one in five of those surveyed know that the phrase "a wall of separation" between church and state comes from a letter by Thomas Jefferson. Almost half incorrectly believe it can be found in the Constitution.
Please ping your Scouting list.
This quiz is quite easy; I could see it being used as a civics test, passage of which would be required to exercise the franchise. The passing grade should be no less than 100% - anyone who doesn’t know the answers to all of these very basic questions should not be voting.
Good idea. How do we get the ignoramuses to agree?
Oops, wrong! They are the unalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence. The 'u' wasn't a typo.
I’d be happy just to have 80% as a pass! (Boderline B). It’s easy for Freepers to score 100% because we are use to digging to get the truth.
Have a referendum against "universal sufferage." It worked quite well on "The Man Show" when they had a petition drive to end "womens sufferage.
Mark
Our population has been and is being dumbed down in order to herd it like sheep.
The word is "suffrage".
I guess that rules me out; I got 32 out of 33.
Okay, I could go along with an 80% or higher score as passing. Anything to avoid hoi polloi voting themselves bread and circuses at my expense through ‘universal’ suffrage, unearned and undeserved.
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