Knowledge of the First Amendment

[weaktwos]

I suppose I need to modify my claim about not knowing the rights under the First Amendment. I think it's important to know your rights, but not necessarily which amendment the right falls under.

In my view, it's good to know what your rights are, but knowing which amendment it falls under is not an urgent bit of trivia. You can look that up and carry on from there. I did find it disturbing in the article that some folks thought owning a pet was a constitutional right.

Here's the actual report from the McCormick Tribune Museum. You can read the full results there.

The report will tell you that 69% know that freed of speech is a First Amendment right.

When asked this question:
Q. Please tell me which of the following rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

-The right to worship as you please 78%
-The right to criticize the government 73%
-The right to a trial by a jury 55%
-The right to vote 53%
-The right to own a gun 45%
-The right to an attorney 44%
-The right against self incrimination 38%
-The right of women to vote 36%
-The right to a public education 36%
-The right to own and raise pets 21%
-The right to drive a car 17%

So, with prompting, they did well on religion and criticizing the government.

I don't think wrote memorization is quite so necessary in an age where information is readily available. Granted, you aren't going to win any debates if you don't have your facts straight, but then, most of America isn't up for that type of action.

Based on this, I figure anyone who has an issue with how the government is handling of their rights has enough information to do some research and get a lawyer if they need to defend those rights. Since it takes a long time for courts to hear those cases, it's not like you're in a hurry. Besides, knowing the Bill of Rights doesn't mean you know how the courts are going to interpret them, and it gives you no insight into the piles of litigation that has occurred since those rights were drafted.

Knowing which right is under what amendment is for bragging rights at the local pub's trivia night. In terms of the priorities of the average American, it doesn't quite measure up.

That is not to diminish the fact that a lot of people are not fully aware of what is happening in our national government today. However, that is changing. Bush's approval rating is going down, so some folks are paying attention.

I like imlac's idea of carrying the constitution around with you. When you're out and about, waiting for a doctor's appointment, etc., you can peruse the Constitution and reflect upon it.

In other news, I need to finish reading the text of a speech Bill Moyers recently gave.

Comments

[scrapdog.livejournal.com]

Off the top of my head:

The right to worship as you please
The right to criticize the government
The right to a trial by a jury
The right to vote
The right to own a gun
The right to an attorney
The right against self incrimination
The right of women to vote
The right to a public education
The right to own and raise pets
The right to drive a car


AmIright?