Not Much ApparentlyThe Pew Research Center is out with a new quiz probing just what we know about current issues and politics. Most folks who have taken the quiz - the questions range who the Senate Majority Leader is to which country holds most of the debt that the United States has piled up - could answer less than half of the questions correctly.Take the quick, 12 question quiz and see how you stack up.Frankly, if you read a daily newspaper, listen to NPR, watch CNN, FOX of MSNBC, or check a major newspaper blog once in a while you should ace the quiz. However, based upon Pew's findings, most folks are living in an basic information black hole.Fewer than half knew that U.S. troops have sustained more causalities in Afghanistan over the last year than in Iraq. Only 26% knew that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to end a filibuster. Interestingly, the question most frequently answered correctly - 59% of the time - was the nation that holds the most U.S. debt. (Hint - it's not Belgium.)I've long been on my soapbox with concern that education in basic history and what we used to call civics - how the government works, that we have three branches, that Senators operate under different rules that Congressman, etc. - has nearly gone the way of the dodo.This Pew quiz does not prompt me to revise that opinion. With more and more sources of news and information, Americans seem less and less informed about the "facts" underlying what they tell pollsters are their clear concerns about the direction of the country.Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend in 1789: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."By contrast, when the people don't even know the basics about how their government operates and who makes the decisions, a strong, enduring democracy is, well, not necessarily strong or enduring.
For more than 30 years, Marc Johnson has reported on and helped shape public policy in Idaho and the Northwest. He counsels clients on strategic communications and issues management at Gallatin Public Affairs where he serves as the managing partner of the firm's Boise, Idaho office.
A student of political history, Marc writes and speaks regularly on topics ranging Lincoln's re-election in 1864 to Idaho's famous U.S. Senator William E. Borah.
Marc was an award winning broadcast journalist and served as press secretary and chief of staff to Idaho's longest serving governor - Cecil D. Andrus
For nearly 20 years, at the often complex intersection of business, government, politics and the media, we’ve helped our clients seize opportunities, overcome challenges and grow. That’s what we do. We are strategists, lobbyists, communicators, researchers and organizers - experienced Democratic and Republican professionals.
Not Much Apparently
The Pew Research Center is out with a new quiz probing just what we know about current issues and politics. Most folks who have taken the quiz - the questions range who the Senate Majority Leader is to which country holds most of the debt that the United States has piled up - could answer less than half of the questions correctly.
Take the quick, 12 question quiz and see how you stack up.
Frankly, if you read a daily newspaper, listen to NPR, watch CNN, FOX of MSNBC, or check a major newspaper blog once in a while you should ace the quiz. However, based upon Pew's findings, most folks are living in an basic information black hole.
Fewer than half knew that U.S. troops have sustained more causalities in Afghanistan over the last year than in Iraq. Only 26% knew that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to end a filibuster. Interestingly, the question most frequently answered correctly - 59% of the time - was the nation that holds the most U.S. debt. (Hint - it's not Belgium.)
I've long been on my soapbox with concern that education in basic history and what we used to call civics - how the government works, that we have three branches, that Senators operate under different rules that Congressman, etc. - has nearly gone the way of the dodo.
This Pew quiz does not prompt me to revise that opinion. With more and more sources of news and information, Americans seem less and less informed about the "facts" underlying what they tell pollsters are their clear concerns about the direction of the country.
Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend in 1789: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."
By contrast, when the people don't even know the basics about how their government operates and who makes the decisions, a strong, enduring democracy is, well, not necessarily strong or enduring.
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