Saturday, November 22, 2008

U.S. elected officials flunk test on basic civics and history

On a quiz covering fundamental American history, civics and economics conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, United States elected officials crashed and burned. Politicians averaged 44 percent, while average citizens scored better but not by much: 49 percent. The test was given to 2,500 Americans.

Want to try it yourself? Here it is.

How did I do? Not bad: my score was 90.91%. I missed three questions, but one of them I'm inclined to contest if that were possible and the other two, I have to wonder about also. Maybe that's giving away too much already about which questions they are :-P

So... what does this test say about us as a country?

The Founders understood that the United States would only endure and thrive if her people were educated, vigilant, and actively seeking enlightenment. Hard to say that we're doing any of that.

So does anyone seriously think that these same politicians are really bright enough to get us out of the trouble that our economy is in?

If anyone says yes, then I've got one thing to say about that...

"PPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

8 comments:

  1. 73%. Not bad for an amateur historian who doesn't really read much history.

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  2. Er...

    As Monty Python sang...

    Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spammitie spam!

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  3. Not anymore :-P I can't figure out how spam like that gets past Blogger's captcha.

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  4. Dude, I got the same score when I took it at 6:30 this morning. Apparently we should run for office.

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  5. 90% I'd run for office but I need to be a Military Dictator to get anything done! ;)

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  6. I got 90.91%. Seems great minds think alike!

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  7. It's a shame that a test like that isn't required to run for a political office

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  8. "Not bad: my score was 90.91%. I missed three questions,"

    Same here! :-)

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