Are We Living in a Nation Today that is Constitutionally Literate?
...nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never will be...
When I was 3 years old there was nothing that I loved learning to learn about more than dinosaurs. At the time I was convinced that I wanted to be a paleontologist and I loved to sit on my mom's lap and look at the pictures as she read books to me about the animals that I loved. But I wanted to be able to gain the knowledge about these animals myself. You see my illiteracy limited the freedom that I had to learn so I learned how to read. Now as soon as I was able, I spent hours in my room poring over every book that I could get my hands on about the animals that I loved. Now to a three-year-old paleontologist literacy might just mean the ability to learn more about dinosaurs. But as I've grown older, I've come to appreciate the value of literacy itself in a completely different way. You see literacy isn't just the ability to read words on a page. In fact, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy- literacy means the ability to use printed and written information to function in society to accomplish one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential. Now I'm going to say something that may seem a bit shocking at first. So, I hope that you'll hear me out and that is that we live in a society today that is for the most part illiterate.
Now I'll grant you that most Americans because that's the same amount of literacy as the three-year-old dinosaur lover the ability to read words on a page. But when it comes to our government and our nation's most important document our citizens lack true literacy. Yes, we live in a nation today that is constitutionally illiterate. Today we'll begin by first exploring the concept of constitutional literacy. Then we'll observe our American society today to deduce whether we the people are in fact living in a nation of constitutional literacy at all. And finally, and most importantly will observe what steps you and I can take to impact that literacy today.
So, before we do all that what is constitutional literacy. This is a concept that may sound foreign to many of us. And it's one that deserves some explanation. Fundamentally constitutional literacy is an ideal that all citizens would have been well versed in and have read the Constitution of the United States. But there are three parts to the standard of constitutional literacy. The first is that citizens must have read and understand the full text of the Constitution. The second is that citizens must understand their duties according to the Constitution and be willing to perform them. And the third is that citizens must be aware of their government's actions so that we can hold that government accountable when it steps outside of its constitutional bounds. So now that we have a brief understanding as to what constitutional literacy is the question is this; Are we living in a nation today that is constitutionally literate? Or are we the people living in a nation of constitutional illiteracy. Well let's examine those three standards once more. The first was that citizens must have read and understand the full text of the Constitution.
In 2013 the National Constitutional Center conducted a survey and the results of that survey found that only 5 percent of Americans can correctly answer 10 rudimentary questions about the United States Constitution. Sixty percent of Americans do not know the number of United States senators or representatives. Thirty five percent will incorrectly tell you that the Constitution mandates English as the official language of our nation. One out of every three adult Americans does not know the number of the branches of United States government and two out of every three cannot name one of those three branches. Dr. Judith Rodin president of the University of Pennsylvania said the respondents to the poll made it clear that they care very deeply about the Constitution and understand its importance as a guarantor of our freedoms. However, they appear unfamiliar with many of its basic provisions. Most Americans today will tell you that they love the Constitution but the evidence begs the question How can you love what you do not know.
The second standard of constitutional literacy is that citizens must understand their duties according to the Constitution and be willing to perform them. Scott Keeter director of survey research at the Pew Research Center once said there are a lot of arguments to show how our society is moving towards a right focus but away from an obligation’s focus. In 2014 the Associated Press conducted a survey and the results of that survey found that nine out of every 10 Americans do believe that citizenship comes with some responsibilities. However very few Americans are able to detail what those responsibilities are. In fact, according to the survey if you are an American under 30 years of age you are unlikely to be able to identify one civic responsibility. Now most Americans were able to come to a sort of a consensus when it came to voting three out of every four adult Americans concluded that voting was at least a very important aspect of citizenship. Yet even here there seems to be a disconnect for many Americans when it comes to actually following through on our civic duty when we know what it is for although seventy five percent of Americans will tell you that voting is very important. Look at the 2014 midterm elections where only 36 percent of Americans voted the lowest voter turnout since nineteen forty-two. When we observe our American society today, we see that our citizens do not know their duties according to the Constitution or at best seem unwilling to perform them.
The third and final standard is that citizens must be aware of their government's actions so that we can hold that government accountable when it steps outside of its constitutional bounds. Former United States President Thomas Jefferson once said the nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never will be. But today many Americans are ignorant when it comes to legislation being passed by Congress or Supreme Court decisions being handed down and that impacts their civic involvement.
According to the Pew Research Center Moreover it has become clear that more informed Americans are more likely to believe that they hold a personal stake in what goes on in Washington and are therefore more likely to be registered to vote than less informed Americans. The less informed our populace Groves about our Constitution and our government the less likely they are to take other aspects of their citizenship seriously. As constitutional lawyer Michael Farris once put it the greatest threat to American liberty today is not abusive legislation. It is constitutional illiteracy.
When we observe our American society today, we can only come to one conclusion and that is that we are not living in a nation of constitutional literacy. But it's important for us to not simply identify a problem but not work at all to fix it. If we are to find out that one out of three every Americans couldn't even read or write we wouldn't do the same thing. So now that we've identified the problem, we must take steps to rectify it. I believe the solution can be found in the words of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who once said Our government is extremely complicated. You have to teach it to every generation.
Sandra Day O'Connor reminds us of the importance of teaching the generations of today who become the voters of tomorrow about our government and our Constitution. We do this by ensuring that students read and understand the full text of the Constitution by teaching them about their duties according to that Constitution and enabling them to perform them. And by ensuring that our students and ourselves are aware of our government's actions so that we can hold that government accountable when it steps outside of its constitutional bounds. For as Mark Twain reminds us the man who does not read holds no advantage over the man that cannot read.
No, I still love dinosaurs even today and I'm thankful for the world that learning how to read open for me. But it is high time for us as Americans to progressed beyond the literacy of a child. When it comes to our nation's most important document. The preservation of America as the bastion of liberty was intended to become depends upon it and the preservation of America as a nation of freedom for our future generations of doctors, lawyers, and paleontologists depends upon it.
