Maybe we should ALL take citizenship tests

[Ed W]

Food for thought.  Ignore the hyperbole and go for the heart of the argument:

"The folks at Newsweek gave over a thousand random Americans the test that immigrants must pass to be granted American citizenship. The results were disappointing to say the least. Around 38% (about four out of 10) failed the test (and if they had been immigrants wouldn't be granted citizenship). And yet even though they don't know enough about this country to be a citizen, we allow these people to vote in our elections."

http://www.bestoftheblogs.com/Home/38295

I haven't looked, but are there any practice tests for citizenship available on line?  It could be interesting to take one and compare results.

[dbacks fan]

Food for thought.  Ignore the hyperbole and go for the heart of the argument:

"The folks at Newsweek gave over a thousand random Americans the test that immigrants must pass to be granted American citizenship. The results were disappointing to say the least. Around 38% (about four out of 10) failed the test (and if they had been immigrants wouldn't be granted citizenship). And yet even though they don't know enough about this country to be a citizen, we allow these people to vote in our elections."

http://www.bestoftheblogs.com/Home/38295

I haven't looked, but are there any practice tests for citizenship available on line?  It could be interesting to take one and compare results.

I actually took the 50 question test and aced it.

http://www.800citizen.org/us_citizenship_test/

[Ed W]

Wow!  I received a 94, partly because I mis-marked a question and totally gorfed some others.  Jay Leno did not write the Declaration of Independence!  Who knew?  Seriously, though, I simply mis-read some of the answers and pounced on what I thought were easy ones.

(spoiler alert)

There's one that I have to disagree with, though, and that had to do with the Pledge of Allegiance.  The correct answer is that we pledge allegiance to the flag, but I chose 'to the country' because it's the second clause of the Pledge and it's clearly not subordinate.  Gosh, maybe we could all argue about it!

[ZYX]

Geeez, I only got an 84. Of course, I haven't finished high school yet, that's still no excuse.

[Townsend]

Geeez, I only got an 84. Of course, I haven't finished high school yet, that's still no excuse.

Hey, if you can identify the USA on a globe you're ahead of the game.

[ZYX]

Hey, if you can identify the USA on a globe you're ahead of the game.

YEEEAAH!

[Conan71]

Hey, if you can identify the USA on a globe you're ahead of the game.

Versus "The Iraq" or someplace like that?

[Breadburner]

[Townsend]

United States of Ignorants? Americans Don't Know Constitution, Surveys Find


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-enthusiasm-surveys-find-ignorance-us-constitution/story?id=13206667&page1

The rise of the Tea Party has sparked resurgent interest in the U.S. Constitution and the history that led to drafting it.

But a survey published this week by Newsweek and an informal ABC News poll of tourists on the National Mall last month found many Americans remain surprisingly ignorant of the founding document's provisions.

"What is the supreme law of the land?" Seventy-percent of the 1,000 citizens polled by Newsweek couldn't answer correctly. (Hint: It's the Constitution.)

Sixty-one percent didn't know that the length of a U.S. senator's term is six years, 63 percent couldn't name the number of Supreme Court justices on the bench (nine), and 86 percent didn't know that 435 members fill the U.S. House of Representatives.

At the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., dozens of Americans we surveyed didn't fare much better. Few could recite the opening phrase of the Constitution ("We the people of the United States...") or list the constitutional requirements to be president (natural born, at least 35 years old and permanent resident of the United States).

And while experts say the results aren't new or surprising, the ignorance of many Americans on the details of the Constitution sharply contrasts with their belief in the document and impact on their lives.

Three in four Americans believe the Constitution is an enduring document that remains relevant today, an Associated Press poll found last summer. Nearly as many, 63 percent, believe the Constitution affects their lives "a great deal," ABC News found in a recent poll.

And 73 percent of them said they're confident they know "some" or a "great deal" of the Constitution's contents.

[DolfanBob]

Seriously. What the hell was that ?

[Conan71]

Seriously. What the hell was that ?

Future porn star or hairdresser.  I don't think a college career would be a reality for her.  Wait... is she one of The Sheen's goddesses now?

[DolfanBob]

Future porn star or hairdresser.  I don't think a college career would be a reality for her.  Wait... is she one of The Sheen's goddesses now?

Well if she is. I'll give her points on the "Duh" but thats not "Winning"

[Ed W]

Geeez, I only got an 84. Of course, I haven't finished high school yet, that's still no excuse.

Hang around in here and you're guaranteed to learn quite a lot about the First Amendment!

[ZYX]

Hang around in here and you're guaranteed to learn quite a lot about the First Amendment!

Yeah, espescially after I started that lovely little thread about a certain police officer. Apparently guido supports his cult...