Don’t Let the Media Make You Feel Dumb about the Constitution

Last updated on: September 21, 2017 at 2:34 pm by Mark Meckler

Don’t Let the Media Make You Feel Dumb about the Constitution 2017-09-21T14:34:55-06:00 Mark Meckler

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

4761926575_71da3f26ae_b

You’ve seen the “man on the street” interview designed to make Americans look like absolute idiots? In that same vein, a new poll was released that makes it seem like everyday citizens know very little about the Constitution. The survey found 37% of Americans couldn’t name any specific right guaranteed in the First Amendment.

Here are three more findings:

* Only one in four (26%) can name all three branches of the government. (In 2011, 38% could name all three branches.)

* One in three (33%) can’t name any branch of government. None. Not even one.

* A majority (53%) believe the Constitution affords undocumented immigrants no rights. However, everyone in the US is entitled to due process of law and the right to make their case before the courts, at the least.

I’ll admit that I find these numbers distressing — if Americans don’t know their rights, we won’t exercise them. However, my friend Scott Rasmussen had a great take on these numbers:

Data like this is often used in a condescending way to denigrate the American people. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the group that conducted the survey, raised the alarm by saying that “protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution presupposes that we know what they are.” Jay Cost of the Weekly Standard wrote, “We have squandered the greatest civic legacy in the history of the world.”

However, the data itself tells a different story. The question asked by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania was this: “What are the specific rights guaranteed by the First Amendment?” Nearly half (48%) correctly named the freedom of speech. Smaller numbers correctly identified the freedom of religion, the freedom of the press, the right to assemble, and the right to petition the government.

A few incorrectly guessed the right to bear arms or “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Those are important parts of our civic heritage, but they’re not written in the First Amendment.

All this survey data tells us is that roughly a third of the people didn’t know certain rights were specifically mentioned in the First Amendment. But there is a huge difference between knowledge of which passage mentions which freedoms and knowing that we have certain rights. For example, just about every American knows we have freedom of speech even if only 48% know where it was written in our founding documents.

Precisely. Don’t let liberal reporters and the media make you feel like you don’t know about this nation. Regular Americans are the life blood of this nation. As Scott wrote, “the unifying force in our nation is the American Creed. It’s a belief that we all have the right to live our own lives as we see fit so long as we respect the rights of others to do the same.”

Image Credit: M M on Flickr

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 21, 2017

NEW POLL: Americans Know Nothing - Absolutely Nothing - about the Constitution

Next Post

September 22, 2017 Woman Says Hobby Lobby's Cotton Display is Offensive But People Don't Let Her Get Away With It

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the name "Bethlehem" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

House of Bread House of Stone House of Kings House of Prayer