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Politics & Government

Tucker's Civic Awareness

An unscientific survey finds a lack of knowledge of some of the basics of our democracy

Thomas Jefferson simultaneously summed up the rationale for and the necessary methodology of democracy.  "I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but the people.  And if we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from them, but to inform them by education."

While some may rail against the ignorance of the people and hope for heroes to rescue them from the dire plight of the present pass of humankind, this humble correspondent stands without equivocation behind the notion of majority rule and a listing of basic human rights that not even the majority can overturn.  Such a list, of course, is what the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution represent, a "Bill of Rights" that has stood the test of time.

On the other hand, when one examines U.S. history -- most recently the so-called Patriot Act, and before that a nauseating litany of perfidy against human rights and democracy in the form of COINTELPRO, Operation Mockingbird, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, the Palmer Raids, to name just a few instances of this oppressive tendency -- the Bill of Rights has frequently failed the test of politics.  Thus, in Jefferson's noble vision, political education must rank as the highest duty of a democratic society.  Without it, all paper assignment of "right," or "wrong," will have only the weight of ink and crushed, bleached pulp to maintain its validity.

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Civic Education

How we are doing as a society in terms of civic education will therefore determine how we do as a society in terms of civic engagement.  That America's civil society seems to be coming apart at the seams most definitely speaks to the lack of political education -- in the schools, in community organizations, and in every sphere where such advancement of learning might occur.

Before this last week passed by in a whirl of surveys, though this humble correspondent could find plenty of research to back up this contention, it was nonetheless an assertion that he had not proven in his own laboratory.  No longer is that the case.  He and his partners in social justice and democracy have designed a five-part 'Survey of Civic Knowledge.' 

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Having administered the initial section of this instrument to a random sample of 64 Tuckerians, he now has direct evidence that lack of basic knowledge -- conceptual and historical -- plagues even a community as fortunate and well-provided as is Tucker.  The slice of Tucker addressed, though randomly chosen, may not be representative.  To conduct such a survey would require some resources other than the diligence and good will of this humble correspondent and his collaborators. 

 The exact outcome of this poll, therefore, is likely to be flawed.  At the same time, its results are so wickedly lopsided that one might risk clamoring for some sort of uplifting civic congress to advance both a conversation about democracy and encourage mutual apprehension of the parameters and potency of popular participation.  In any event, fully a third -- 22 out of 64 -- of the respondents did indeed call out for just such a process: "I need this," or, "We need more of this,"  were consistent refrains.

Survey Results

 Twenty five of the exchanges occurred in commercial or common spaces, and some number of these individuals may not even reside in Tucker, though pollsters did indicate that the purpose of the effort was "to determine civic knowledge in Tucker."  The other 39 tallies transpired over the phone, with calls to many more Tucker numbers than the 39 who eventually responded.

Here is the tale of the tape.  The mean score on five questions was 53%.  The questions themselves, and the general distribution of answers, will now make an appearance, followed by a further disputation in favor of an uptake of the civic challenge contained in these findings.

The first inquiry was multiple choice: "Which of the following answer choices is the clearest and most accurate definition of the word democracy?"  All but 15 folks got this right.

  • The answer, "A," was "Majority Rule." 
  • A smattering of 11 people selected "B," One Person, One Vote." 
  • No one chose "C," the American Way of Government." 
  • Four individuals selected "D," "Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances," and
  • no one chose "E," "Protecting the Rights of Minorities and Property Holders."

The second query, "What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?" also resulted in a solid majority of correct answers --44 out of 64 articulating the "Bill of Rights" or something similar enough to receive credit.  Surprisingly, many of the people who responded righteously were uncertain about their answers.

The third query was a major stumbling block.  Asked to name five of those ten amendments, only ten of the group failed altogether.  But freedom of speech and the Second Amendment protection of an armed citizenry were the only two that a clear majority could reliably name.  The difficulty lay in the conflating of the other elements of the First Amendment into their own spots on the roster.  Not that assembly, religion, and press are unimportant, quite the contrary; their elevation to the prime slot on the checklist suggests their role as prime movers of democratic governance.

The problem lies in leaving no room for the full half of the Bill of Rights enumerating with some particularity the necessities of fair and democratic criminal procedure.  In an age in which 'Minor in Possession," the vicious monstrosity of the 'War on Drugs,' and all manner of criminalization of the sublime and the ridiculous have taken over the polity, and further and further erosion of due process has transpired, generally in the name of 'security,' a lack of familiarity with these rights seems, at the very least, a little chilling.

The fourth interrogatory is another that almost everyone answered correctly; in fact, only eight people missed this.  It posed a true/false inquiry.  "The original Constitution protected the rights of all adult Americans."

The fifth question, "Which of the following ended slavery in America?" was the only poser with a somewhat 'tricky' choice among the answers. 

  • No one elected "E," "William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea in Georgia." 
  • A pair of respondents did hit upon "D," "The Supreme Court Decision in Plessy versus Ferguson." 
  • Astoundingly, seven people endorsed "C," "The Jim Crow Act of 1865."
  • The difficulty showed up in differentiating the correct answer, "B," "The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution," from the teaser, "A," "A Law Passed After the Battle of Gettysburg Called the Emancipation Proclamation."  And since Lincoln's executive decision did free many slaves and assert the liberation of others, it is not a ridiculous choice. 

However, given the nature of life in these United States, twisted and distorted still by the legacy of slavery, a knowledge that the President issued this order as a tactic, that he felt otherwise able to compromise about slavery, and that a practical coup had to take place before the actual solidification of the prohibition of involuntary servitude came to pass is arguably a critically important fact to keep in mind.  A rational discussion of race and prejudice, as just one example, is otherwise impossible.

Conclusions

Another notion of our third President confirmed this humble correspondent in this pathway of a survey as a prompt for a more thorough uptake of the issue of civic discussion and learning.  Jefferson said, "The people cannot be all, and always well informed.  The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive."

The surface views of vox populi regarding immigration, regarding crime, regarding military spending, and more might be fascinating to examine in the context of a truly thoroughgoing educational effort among adults about such complicated issues of fact and propaganda, of democracy and empire, and of other such common dualities.

 In any event, as the second through the fifth sections of the process loom ahead, the words of James Madison ring clear.  Ultimately, in his mind, he considered himself a friend of the majority, even though he had strategized their disfranchisement in Federalist Numbers Ten and Fifty One.  Toward the end of his life, in any event, Madison called out in crystalline terms for the nectar necessary to sustain democracy.

            "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.  Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

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