With the election just weeks away, many Americans are apparently in need of a good civics lesson. The annual Constitution Day Civics Survey conducted this week reveals a majority of Americans can't name one of the protections in the First Amendment besides freedom of speech. The survey finds fewer than 1-in-10 can name all five rights outlined in the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government), and about 1-in-5 can't name any First Amendment rights.
Other highlights (or lowlights) from the survey include one-third can't name all three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial), and nearly one-quarter believe the right to bear arms is part of the First Amendment (it's actually the Second.) Another recent survey found most college students about to vote for the first time have no civic literacy. Anthony Russo, political commentator and podcast host, says these findings are troubling because if we don't understand our rights, we could lose them. "There are places where you can be arrested for things you post, that's what we're seeing in countries like the United Kingdom where, because they don't have the Constitution like America, they have lost the ability to have any freedom of speech and dissension with the powers that be, the government, or the media," he tells KTRH.
The bottom line is most Americans don't fully understand the rights they possess...and Russo believes many of our leaders are fine with that. "(They) don't want a bunch of thinkers, they want a bunch of students that will follow the plan," he says. "And I think the lack of continuing education on civics, the Constitution, stuff like that, is based on the fact that if we know too much about what we're allowed to do as Americans, then all of a sudden they (the leaders) lose control."