Know
your rights, not your television programs
Austin
Lewis
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees five things: freedom
of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably
assemble and the right to petition the government.
If you’re reading this, hopefully you already knew at least some of those
freedoms. If not, what were you doing when you should have been paying attention
to your U.S. history courses in high school and college?
According to survey results released by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum
earlier this month, chances are you were spending time studying five things.
But no, these things were not religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
Instead, they go by the names Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie.
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, only 0.1 percent—one person—was able
to correctly identify all five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.
On the other hand, 22 percent—more than 200 people—were able to
name all five members of the Simpson family. But there is at least one piece
of good news in the story: Bart Simpson is not more popular than the freedom
that allows him to say and do many of the things he does. Of those surveyed,
69 percent recognized the freedom of speech as a First Amendment right, but
only 61 percent knew Bart’s name.
But that’s not all. The same survey found that judges on “American
Idol” and certain advertising slogans were more widely known than the
First Amendment. For example, only 7 percent of those surveyed could name three
of the five things guaranteed by the First Amendment, but 24 percent were able
to name all three “American Idol” judges.
The ease with which Americans remember things about certain television shows
or advertising slogans shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, considering
the amount of time we spend watching television and the number of ads we are
exposed to every day. But the shock is, as this study shows, people just don’t
care to learn about the things that really matter.
According to this survey, people are clueless in other ways as well. Over one-third
of those surveyed believe the First Amendment gives women the right to vote
and gives everyone the right to a public education. And about one out of five
people surveyed believe the First Amendment gives them the right to have pets
and drive a car.
At a time when the government is encroaching on our freedoms, people should
be very aware of the rights they have, so they can hold on to them should the
government try to take them away under the guise of national security. As Ben
Franklin said, those who would give up freedom for security deserve neither
freedom nor security. That’s a quote worth remembering, more so than “Don’t
have a cow, man!” or “Eat my shorts!”
Austin Lewis is a senior journalism major.
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