First, a confession.
It wasn’t until later in life that I began to appreciate the brilliance and significance of the U.S. Constitution. Even during my early days in talk radio, when someone would reference the Constitution, I would roll my eyes.
I specifically remember a low point when I told a caller, “Don’t start quoting the Constitution to me!”
I was ignorant, and so I responded in anger.
But somewhere along the line, I wised up and started reading and studying the Constitution and educating myself more about history. It wasn’t until then that I began to fully appreciate the fundamental and enduring American values of individual freedom and liberty.
The more I have learned (I have a long way to go), the more connected I feel to this great country.
A new national survey by Xavier University’s Center for the Study of the American Dream finds a disturbingly high number of Americans who are in the same boat I was just a few years ago.
According to the survey, one in three native-born citizens failed the civics portion of the naturalization test—the test that nearly 98 percent of all immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship passes.
Here are some examples of the Xavier survey results:
–85 percent did not know the meaning of “rule of law.”
–82 percent could not name two rights in the Declaration of Independence.
–75 percent were not able to correctly answer what the judiciary branch does.
–One in four did not know that the Civil War was fought in the 1800’s.
–Nearly 60 percent don’t know what an amendment is.
Center founding director Michael Ford says the results do not bode well for the future.
“Civic illiteracy threatens the American Dream because it threatens the freedoms we treasure,” Ford said. “Civic illiteracy makes us more susceptible to manipulation and abuses of power.”
Or, put another way, how can we truly appreciate freedom if we don’t understand that the absence of it was a driving force behind the creation of the country?
Interestingly, those making the greatest sacrifice to achieve the American Dream– immigrants who give up the citizenship of their homeland to come here–know more about the fundamentals of our government than one-third of the population.
Should Americans by birth get a free pass on this ignorance? Is their biological luck enough to entitle them to all the rights and privileges that come with citizenship? The answer is “yes” because we so value individual freedom that we do not empower the government to impose citizenship tests on the native born.
But there will be a cost.
The late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia was one of the great public advocates for an informed citizenry. He wrote in his autobiography that “Only with a citizenry that understands its responsibilities in a republic such as ours” can we achieve honest government and preserve liberties.
“We can build upon the respect and reverence we still hold for our Constitution,” Byrd wrote, “But we had better start now before, through ignorance and apathy, even that much slips away from us.”
The Xavier University study indicates that the clock is ticking.