Ignorant America: New Poll Shows We Know Nothing About Civics

Have you ever watched some idiot liberal espouse their views about the latest Donald Trump outrage and come away thinking, “This guy doesn’t know ANYTHING about our country’s history, founding, or system of government!”? If so, that might not have just been your partisan mind talking. Because according to a new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey, the majority of Americans – especially liberals – are woefully underinformed when it comes to civics and history. It’s not a stretch to say that most of the general public – the VOTING general public – is walking around in a blind daze.

According to the survey, which polled more than 1,000 American adults, only 25% are able to name all three branches of the federal government. Only a QUARTER of the American adult population can name the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches!? This is not some obscure thing. This is not like asking your average American to name every Supreme Court Justice currently sitting on the bench. This isn’t even asking Americans to name the House Majority Leader. This is basic, fundamental, fourth-grade stuff here. This is asking, “What ocean borders California?” There’s no excuse for this kind of widespread ignorance, and my GOD, is it widespread!

How about this: 37% of respondents could not name A SINGLE RIGHT protected by the First Amendment. No wonder we’re seeing anti-free speech movements growing on college campuses. No wonder so many liberals think that the rights of gay couples should trump the rights of Christians. More than a third of the country isn’t even aware of the CONCEPT of free speech, or at least the fact that it is enshrined in the Constitution. This is bizarre, sad, and troubling for the future of our country.

“Protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution presupposes that we know what they are. The fact that many don’t is worrisome,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the APPC. “These results emphasize the need for high-quality civics education in the schools and for press reporting that underscores the existence of constitutional protections.”

Forget “high-quality” education! It emphasizes the need for EDUCATION. Period. It should not take a civics class of any renown to convey these basic, fundamental American concepts! This is first-day stuff. And frankly, we don’t buy that this is about some failure in our public schools (or the damn media) that can be corrected by throwing more money on the fire. Every single person that took this survey learned this stuff in school. Or, perhaps to say it better, they were taught it in school. Whether they learned it or not is another matter. The poll would suggest they did not.

Oh, and about that “3 branches of government” question, it actually gets worse. A full third of American adults cannot name a SINGLE branch of the federal government. Not one! When these idiots think about the government, there’s apparently just a blank space in their mind, or a few random mental images of Donald Trump…?

Absolutely terrifying, when you think about the implications.