By Danny Tyree
Okay, maybe I’m approaching this from a position of privilege.
One of my earliest memories is of tagging along to my mother’s former grammar school when she voted. Social Studies was one of my favorite elementary school classes. Mr. Lowry’s junior high Civics class taught us about polling, current events and debate skills. I made straight A’s when I minored in Political Science in college.
So I’m a wee bit prejudiced when I applaud the arrival of the book “Restoring the City on a Hill: U.S. History & Civics in America’s Schools.”
The authors recommend a rebooted K-12 emphasis on the documents, historical figures, Supreme Court cases, core principles and sacred duties that used to bring us together as Americans.
(To their credit, the authors avoid divisiveness by relegating the easily misinterpreted phrase “dumb as a sack of wet rocks” to the appendix of a future edition.)
At least 9 out of 10 applicants for legal immigration routinely pass a rigorous citizenship test, but an alarmingly high percentage of native-born Americans experience difficulty listing the three branches of government (“Lather, rinse, repeat?”) or remembering the name of their state legislator. (“My letter to Mr. Free Beans and Barbecue got returned by the United States Postal Service, which I believe was founded as part of the space shuttle program!”)
We were more knowledgeable back in my day, but even then, civic awareness was on a downhill slide. It was a matter of priorities; many of my peers would’ve loved reading The Federalist Papers, but first they had to score some Zig-Zag papers.
Many school districts don’t really offer old-fashioned Civics instruction anymore, unless you count endless school-spirit “dress-up” days where students poke around in their parents’ closet and ask what happened to the powdered wigs they wore in school.
If we’re to find solutions to our apathy and ignorance, we have to ask ourselves if we’re part of the problem.
If you think that “the right to assemble” was put into the Bill of Rights because of bribes from IKEA…
If you think that “bicameral” has something to do with the spectrum of confections…
If you think the Electoral College should let its athletes profit from merchandising…
If you think the inscription beneath the Statue of Liberty says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…we’ll leave a light on for you…”
If you think that “civic engagement” is a step toward marrying your Honda…
…you just might need to get a refresher course.
If our graduates are going to maximize their performance in the Real World and serve as an inspiration for newly minted citizens, they need at least a working knowledge of eminent domain, filibusters, jury duty, petitions, referendums, trade deficits and the causes of inflation.
But let’s strive for neutrality. Some schools that do provide Civics courses encourage the teachers to use them as training grounds for misguided activism. (“Today we’re going to protest the inequity of the summer solstice. Everyone glue your hands to the sun. Ouch! Owie!”)
Yes, some educators yearn to indoctrinate their students into dissing our traditions and institutions. On the plus side, at least this uncovers other inadequacies.
“I’m not standing for the National Anthem. I’m taking a …bendy thing between the upper part of your leg and the lower part of your leg.”
*Sigh* Maybe it’s time to reevaluate biology as well.
Controversial author Harlan Ellison once described the work of Danny Tyree as “wonkily extrapolative” and said Tyree’s mind “works like a demented cuckoo clock.” Ellison was speaking primarily of Tyree’s 1983-2000 stint on the “Dan T’s Inferno” column for “Comics Buyer’s Guide” hobby magazine, but the description would also fit his weekly “Tyree’s Tyrades” column for mainstream newspapers. Tyree generated a particular buzz on the Internet with his column spoofing real-life Christian nudist camps.
Sample-Basic-Civics-Test
JimboXYZ says
This test was online for Facebook. You’d have to be one of the idiots that are skipping classes & absentee from school to fail it.
cpp says
Good for these individuals that chose the correct route into the United States and the responsible decision to become a US Citizen to better their life. Of note: in 2022, 2.2-2.7 Million illegals came across our borders. In 2022 967,500 migrants made a choice to become US Citizens.
DaleL says
Danny is correct. Far too many “Americans” don’t seem to have a clue. What bugs me a bit is when people claim to have sung our National Anthem. I point out that that they only sang the first verse. There are four verses, not just one.
Of note recently is the discussion as to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
I have watched supposedly educated people claim that because the office of the President is not specifically mentioned, that the Amendment does not apply to Mr. Trump. Members of Congress (Senators & Representatives) hold office in a separate branch of government. Similarly, members of the Electoral College do not hold office under the United States, but rather a separate body that exists only to choose the President and Vice President. There is also no requirement in the Section that a person be convicted of any crime. The issue is very simple, did Mr. Trump engage in insurrection or rebellion against the US Constitution or has he given aid or comfort to the enemies of the US Constitution?
Our Constitution is the highest law in the USA. Judges interpret and enforce various laws everyday. It is appropriate that the justices of the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) decide this issue.
Maybe, just maybe, as a result of the news coverage, more Americans will become aware of our three major branches of the federal government. As to the Electoral College, most will remain clueless.
Now a US Citizen says
I wasn’t born in the US but came over when I was a toddler due to my father moving for work. I grew up in the US and went to school here and I have not only been through the school system, but I had to take the test when I became a US Citizen a few years back. And yes, contrary to popular belief, just because you grow up here all your known life doesn’t make you an automatic citizen. I had to go through the same process as someone that is fresh to the country applying.
This story is 150% correct! That test is no joke and is very hard. I was always into our country’s history, systems, governments, so I knew a lot and still had to brush up. I gave the same test to all of my friends, which went to the same schooling system and most have degrees and are very intelligent and they all failed. It is sad to know that so many people that live here do not even know the basics on how everything works. Is it laziness, or because it’s not taught well or not enough time to spend on it, I really don’t know.
I do know that you hear people born here complain a lot of immigrants and yeah sometimes I get it, but there are a lot of very hard-working intelligent people that were born elsewhere that contribute a lot to our nation and society and are often looked at in general as second class. They don’t understand how hard it actually is to become a citizen and the whole process.
It is not as easy as going, ok I am going to be a citizen now and go get a special card. You have to go through the rigors of the INS and let me tell you if you want to complain about the police or any other government authority then you don’t anything. The INS is super strict and can at times be mean. Now, obviously not every single person, but a majority are. It is not a great process and that is all I will say about it. Take the worst authority experience you had and then times that times a 1000 and maybe you will be close. The security is armed, often with machine guns/rifles and they have the authority to deport you for sometimes just filling in paperwork the wrong way. I know I have witnessed it myself in Orlando.
I was one of the lucky few, because since I grew up here, I speak fluent English and am Caucasian. I was treated a lot nicer than I saw many others and I don’t know if those factored into everything or maybe they thought I was plant testing them. Not sure and to be honest, I didn’t complain because like I said it is a place that most people don’t want to be at or go through.
So in short, I think that many of us that actually were born here kind of take it for granted, maybe not of their own fault, and this subject should be mandatory in schools and has to be passed. If you are unsure, go to you tube and punch in some videos where they question people off the street with the US test and you will be surprised. Yes, there are some easy ones, like what day is Independance Day, but there are some really hard ones as well.
Me says
We know Nikki Haley and Donald Trump wouldn’t be able to but they want to be President, that right there should disqualify them.
Laurel says
I missed two: The number of years we vote in Representatives, and the total number of Senators. Now I know.
don miller says
migrants going the legal route make better voters. the ones born here are no longer required in HS to know anything about government, service nor loyalty. all voters should have to pass the test and same requirements of a naturalized citizen that must be accomplished in order to gain the right to vote.
don miller says
you actually have to be convicted not suspected of a crime of insurrection to be guilty of it. until then, the 14th doesn’t apply to trump. or did you rewrite the 6th amendment?
Ray W. says
There is a concept in the law known as a condition precedent. What you are arguing is that there exists in the law a condition precedent for a criminal conviction for either rebellion or insurrection under the 14th Amendment, else it cannot be applied to anyone, including former President Trump. You might be right. You might be wrong. Since most of the Confederate officers who were denied access to federal office under the amendment were not prosecuted for either rebellion or insurrection, there exists an argument that the amendment itself is self-executing; it doesn’t require a prior conviction. Since the language of the 14th Amendment does not mention the need for a prior criminal conviction, it appears that it will be up to the courts to decide the validity of your argument. Only time will tell.
Sherry says
Thanks so much, Ray, for setting us straight on how the 14th amendment of our constitution can be legally applied. Hopefully, if the Supreme Court does take up this question, they will make a “legal” determination on the question and not a “political” one.
Ray W. says
Hello Sherry,
Please remember that civil juries, relying on a preponderance of the competent and reliable evidence standard, find facts, too. Yes, criminal juries find facts, but the standard is beyond a reasonable doubt. If there is a condition precedent of fact-finding inhering in the language of the 14th Amendment, then under the civil standard, either a judge or a jury could find a sufficient quantity of evidence to meet the preponderance of the evidence standard, which could be used to establish the commission of inciting or participating in a rebellion or insurrection on then-President Trump’s part without ever engaging in the process of convicting him of a crime.
Endless dark money says
This is the gop strategy they need ignorant people to believe their ignorant lies and vote against their own self interest. Ban books, fly migrants to random locations, spew hate and block any progress all on your dime.
Sherry says
Hello Ray. . . Perhaps you saw the FOX interview with trump’s attorney this morning. . . this from The Hill: An attorney for former President Trump, Alina Habba, said late Thursday that she has faith in the Supreme Court and believes that Justice Brett Kavanaugh will “step up” in Trump’s ballot cases in Maine and Colorado.
“I think it should be a slam dunk in the Supreme Court. I have faith in them,” Habba told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “You know, people like Kavanaugh, who the president fought for, who the President went through how to get into place, he’ll step up.”
This is precisely what we should all be concerned about, when it comes to the partisan Supreme Court.