Americans United in Civic Ignorance, Politicians Worse
By Anthony Gregory • Tuesday December 9, 2008 5:52 PM PDT • 6 Comments
Every once in a while a report comes out about how ignorant Americans are in civics, politics, American history and economics. This one seems to indicate that American ignorance cuts across all demographics:
“Young Americans failed, but so did the elderly,” said Bunting. “Men and women, rich and poor, liberals and conservatives, Republican and Democratic, white, black, yellow and brown—all were united in their inability to master the basic features of America’s constitutional form of government.”
But this surprised even me:
Seventy-nine (79) percent of elected officeholders did not know that the Bill of Rights expressly forbids the government establishment of an official religion.
It’s a good thing we have a democratic system, where ignorant voters can vote for even more ignorant officials.
Tags: American History, Economics, Education, Elections, Politics 
Watch for this to be cited as reason to enact some form of “national service” program.
Jason | Dec 9, 2008 | Reply
Look on the bright side. We’ve achieved the progressive dream of egalitarianism: we’re all equally ignorant.
Steve Hogan | Dec 9, 2008 | Reply
Some of the questions seem to concern politics, not civics. For example, it seems one of the questions asked the test-taker to identify Abraham Lincoln as the originator of a saying.
A couple of questions want to know whether the test-taker has memorized dates of events. Another couple of questions query if the test-taker knows participants in world war II.
So what? Memorization of facts (hearsay?) is irrelevant to wisdom. Some of the questions seem to be truly about understanding the role of government, but as for the rest, they had better formulate some improved questions to test understanding of civics, before they administer a test, again.
Grant Reiner | Dec 10, 2008 | Reply
Grant Reiner, you make a good point. The test probably contains a bias.
Anthony Gregory | Dec 10, 2008 | Reply
– 54 percent do not know that the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, not the president.
Based on our current situation, it seems that this 54 percent includes the president, the Supreme Court, and all of Congress members except Ron Paul.
The writer also laments that only 17 percent of Americans can define free market capitalism. I am curious as to what “correct” definition was used because from what I read in conservative writings, they don’t know what free market capitalism is either.
C. Evans | Dec 10, 2008 | Reply
Ah, but this doesn’t matter because the “miracle of aggregation” cancels out the votes of all but the most politically informed. The fact that the quality of the most politically informed – including elected officials! – continues to ratchet downward is of no consequence, I suppose...
The resistance to the fact of the crisis of legitimacy on the part of many political scientists is depressing. It’s as if because they pay attention, all is fine and things “work generally well.”
Dain | Dec 12, 2008 | Reply