Interesting Study.
Well I'm on spring break and I've got nothing to do tonight (aside from playing Guitar Hero but since I've already logged at least 8 hours in the game since my brother picked it up last night, I think I'm going to take a break) so I decided to browse the web for a bit. I was hopping through the message boards when I came across this article which basically demonstrates the power television has in American society. The article is based on a study that shows only 25 percent of Americans can name more than 1 of the 5 freedoms the first ammendment guarantess (I'm going to take a guess and say the other 80 percent said speech) while more than half of the U.S. population can name at least 2 members of the Simpson's family and 22 percent can name all 5. The accuracy of these studies might not be perfect, but we're given a general idea and a believable one at that.
I myself rarely watch the Simpsons and I can name all 5 members with no trouble yet I have to pause for a moment to recollect the freedoms given from the first ammendment (petition for redress of grievances always gets me), and the only reason I remember them is because not too long ago I was a sophomore in high school taking American Government. This definitely demonstrates how spoiled we are compared to many underdeveloped nations that we show no care for the freedoms we take for granted (and I myself often fall into this category *gasp*).
Now you definitely can't point your finger at schools for statisitics like these because I think it's fair to say 80 percent of the U.S. population doesn't consist of the youth. I'm going to though, give the benefit of the doubt and believe everyone recognizes these freedoms yet only has trouble remembering which ammendment grants them, but if that's not the case its an issue if people don't recognize important rights such as freedom of assembly in a time of many international affairs that are costing people their lives, while we have a president (I'll give you a hint, it starts with a b and its synonym is dumbass) that deals with them in questionable manners.
I myself rarely watch the Simpsons and I can name all 5 members with no trouble yet I have to pause for a moment to recollect the freedoms given from the first ammendment (petition for redress of grievances always gets me), and the only reason I remember them is because not too long ago I was a sophomore in high school taking American Government. This definitely demonstrates how spoiled we are compared to many underdeveloped nations that we show no care for the freedoms we take for granted (and I myself often fall into this category *gasp*).
Now you definitely can't point your finger at schools for statisitics like these because I think it's fair to say 80 percent of the U.S. population doesn't consist of the youth. I'm going to though, give the benefit of the doubt and believe everyone recognizes these freedoms yet only has trouble remembering which ammendment grants them, but if that's not the case its an issue if people don't recognize important rights such as freedom of assembly in a time of many international affairs that are costing people their lives, while we have a president (I'll give you a hint, it starts with a b and its synonym is dumbass) that deals with them in questionable manners.
posted by The Author at 10:35 PM
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