This'll piss you off

[BJoe]

Anybody else find this incredibly infuriating
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.
This is beyond just being stupid.
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?"
This explains a lot
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.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120..._.QqB68YEazJV4

[JeremyH]

"Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

-- George Carlin

[rusty_rail]

dont take this the wrong way but for someone like me that comes from a diferent country this does not surprisme at all.
society in the us only wants you to know so much, makes people easy to handle. i argue about this all the time with my wife and she gets all pissed at me but i dont intend to offend anybody sometimes i wish some americans will get off their high horse and realize that there living a "truman show".
again no offense intended i love my wife and my kinds as i love this country i just thouth i post my opinion cause i can see it from a different point of view. and yes, education is a lot better in other countrys as well.

[Stormin2u]

That's pathetic no excuse for it.

[flatfender]

is there a link for the test? I think it would be interesting to find out how some of us do on it.

I've been to almost 50 countries and have realized that ignorance is worldwide.

[thatguy]

Originally Posted by flatfender

is there a link for the test? I think it would be interesting to find out how some of us do on it.

you can take it on the isi website.its a jacked up test. i started taking it and decided this is crap. that story is a waste of time.most people dont need to know this.

[JeremyH]

I got 76%....not bad considering I don't follow politics as lose as I should and don't study economics at all.

That quiz was tough. Here is a link for anyone else interested:
http://www.americancivicliteracy.org...rces/quiz.aspx

[BJoe]

I took it the other day, got 78.79% Considering I only have a H.S. education and last took any classes pertaining to this topic in 1993 I though I did pretty good!

[ClodMonster]

I'm currently taking world history in school right now. We just covered the chapter over WWII and the events following the war. Most of which I can remember from earlier grades in school. Most of the info. we've covered has been common knowledge. Also I'm in a civics unit in another class.

Back on topic....It's sad to see how stupid some of us have really become; Ignorance seems to have become wide-spread lately.

I got 86%

[Cloak]

Originally Posted by flatfender

I've been to almost 50 countries and have realized that ignorance is worldwide.

Yup, and yet the US gets picked on more than other places. I'm thinking it is a critical mass effect and a grass is greener effect. "Of course our country is a wonderful utopia, we're not the US!"

I laugh when I see a non-American talking as though they are the expert in US education.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by ClodMonster

I got 86%

I would hope so! You should be doing better than those of us who havent read about WWII in 15 years...

[ClodMonster]

A couple of the questions messed me up like: #33 (thought it was a trick question), #29, and a few others. A couple of them I was confused on mostly because we didn't really go into that much detail on some of the topics. The quiz was harder then what our school tests are.

Learning about economics sucks....

[Tupers]

I got 54.55 %, not to bad considering I'm not American and don't live in the USA.

[BILLYGOAT]

75.76 aint bad. i gues we have a bunch of dumb @ss's running the gov.

[Tupers]

Originally Posted by BILLYGOAT

i gues we have a bunch of dumb @ss's running the gov.

Doesn't every country?