…then anything now and in the future is merely “er, WHY not?” Sort of a play on that saying of “if you believe in nothing, you’ll believe in anything”. My terror is that, time after time of seeing videos, at some point my fellow voting citizens will vote for anything given how little they really know (emphasis mine):
PHILADELPHIA – Americans show great uncertainty when it comes to answering basic questions about how their government works, a national survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania has found.
The survey of 1,416 adults, released for Constitution Day (Sept. 17) in conjunction with the launch of the Civics Renewal Network, found that:
- While little more than a third of respondents (36 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government, just as many (35 percent) could not name a single one.
- Just over a quarter of Americans (27 percent) know it takes a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to override a presidential veto. [but ONLY 27%??? -Skip]
- One in five Americans (21 percent) incorrectly thinks that a 5-4 Supreme Court decision is sent back to Congress for reconsideration [Arrgghh!! -Skip]
“Although surveys reflect disapproval of the way Congress, the President and the Supreme Court are conducting their affairs, the Annenberg survey demonstrates that many know surprisingly little about these branches of government,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC). “This survey offers dramatic evidence of the need for more and better civics education.”
The question is, how to change this around, especially as I’ve seen that high school and college students hardly have a grasp on our history and our philosophical underpinnings?
