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Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
100%

Luck had nothin to do with it, knowin History did.
Although there's two slanted questions in that test, mind you.

-F

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US officials flunk test of American history, economics, civics

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.

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Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Somehow, I still don't feel indoctrinated.

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Meh, 88%. But a lot of those are bullshit ultracapitalist indoctrination talking points.

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International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
Correct answer: an increase in a nation’s productivity

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Originally posted by pizmobeach:
Question #34. If you got more than 85% right you are:

1. Lieing
2. Lucky
3. You cheated and Googled for answers
4. You made a street shoutout.

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8) In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
A. impeach several Supreme Court justices
B. eliminate the Supreme Court
C. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views
D. override the Supreme Court’s decisions by gaining three-quarter majorities in both houses of Congress.

I do not know Supreme Court law, but A, B, and C, each one seems as bad and unlikely and unlawful as the other, so I went with D. Turns out C, he " appointed additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views" is correct. Imagine if Bush or Obama were to do that?

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Originally posted by bluesuncompanyman:

the Preamble to the constitution

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Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:
Wrong on that. I opened the thread, saw the link, read the responses, went there, took it, scored 93%, only missed 2 of 33. I know this s**t.

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Originally posted by pizmobeach:

I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

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Originally posted by pizmobeach:

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Another example:

11) What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?
A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights
B. their arguments helped lead to the abolition of the slave trade
C. their influence ensured that the federal government would maintain a standing army
D. their influence ensured that the federal government would have the power to tax.

I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

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This one was a lucky ( or educated ) guess on my part. I don't remember hearing " anti-Federalist" any time in my schooling, but C and D were obviously logically incorrect- ensuring an army and taxes are obviously Federalist policies, anti-Feds would have surely opposed those Federal powers. I misread the slavery choice-- I skipped a couple of words and got " led to slavery", which is of course wrong. Slavery pre-existed the Revolution, and certainly the Constitution. And abolition would have had to have been a national issue, hence a Federalist concern. Which left the Bill of Rights, which were a set of limits on government power and a critical matter of great debate and concern at the time of the Constitutional Convention. The version of the history I was taught was that the Constitution would not have been adopted if the Bil of Rights had not been included.

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I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

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Originally posted by SignyM:
Missed two of the slanted ones.

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Let's party like its 1929.

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Originally posted by bluesuncompanyman:
Sit at my feet and I shall give you the crash course in Libertarianism 101.

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Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

Not surprising, Pizmo.

It was this very information that originally sparked my interest in history, and revealed in full awesome glory just how MANY lies were being told to me in our heavily propagandised "History" classes.

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Originally posted by rue:


I got 100% and, apparently, I can do both.

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Originally posted by rue:

I think it would be interesting to debate the questions.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
There may be 'lasting' moral and/or political truths, but really, 'A' still seems the better answer to ME.

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Originally posted by rue:
Did YOU ever take a college philosophy class ?

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'A' implies that if you are living in Nazi Germany, and are aryan, it is perfectly ok to violate the human rights of those deemed unacceptable by the state.

Answer 'E' establishes the very existance of what we know of as human rights. Rights that are universal and perminant.

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You answered 33 out of 33 correctly — 100.00 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 78.1%
Average score: 78.1%

You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.

If you have any comments or questions about the quiz, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.

You can consult the following table to see how citizens and elected officials scored on each question.

Where to from here?

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

So "A" implies that if you are living in the USA, and aren't Muslim, it is perfectly okay to violate the human rights of those deemed "enemy combatants" by the state?

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Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Ahhh, NOW you get it, Pizmo.

Tell me, have you considered Anarchism as a philosophy ?

"Hey look, our brand of snake oil is better than their brand of snake oil!"

Yeah, I'm being mocking and ironical there.

Fact is, Sturgeons Law applies to humans too, as well as their philosophies, both religious and political.

-F

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