by Jared Chamberlain

Created on: December 30, 2008

It has been apparent for some time now, especially this year that nearly all Americans are too uneducated or misinformed to cast an intelligent vote. This phenomenon seemed to be the 10,000 pound elephant in the room leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. I knew it, much of my family knew it. But the Networks refused to talk about it amidst their endless praise of a certain candidate. The average American knows nearly nothing about their country - past or present - and bases opinions merely on what they hear on tv, which overwhelmingly consists of lies, or at least a little stretching of the truth. Think about it. how often do you pick up a book on American history or tune into a historical documentary? And most people on this site are more educated, or at least more in tune to their surroundings than many other Americans. I firmly believe that Americans ought to know at least some basic knowledge about their history. I don't mean a 1st grade level either. They should possess a working historical knowledge of at least a middle school level, possibly high school. Not only that, but they should know actual American history. Much of what is learned in the public schools, and I'm sure in the private schools as well, is inaccurate, incomplete, or sometimes outright lies. Fact #1 - Christopher Columbus was a great explorer and a devout Christian to whom we owe our existence as Americans, not a heartless villain who came ashore to destroy the natives and expand an empire. Fact #2 - Franklin Roosevelt did not single-handedly lift America out of the Great Depression with his New Deal. World War 2 was responsible for that. Fact #3 (and here is the kicker) - there is no provision in the U.S. Constitution that guarantees the right to vote in Federal elections. I know we all consider this a basic right, but it is not, actually.

Therefore, while I agree that electing our Federal public officials is a great way to decide on a government, it is not a right that should be granted to anyone who happens to have been alive for 18 years and is not in prison. What happened to being proud of your country? And if you are so proud of your country, wouldn't you want to learn about it? What if you you were walking down the street and you met someone from, say, Latvia. They extend their hand to greet you and you begin talking. He is a very nice fellow and at least somewhat educated, able to carry on a decent conversation. At last he mentions he is here to visit because he has always dreamed of what America must be like and of how proud and educated its citizens must be. He asks you a couple of questions, "who was your second President?," "how is government divided at the Federal level?," "who is your current Speaker of the House?" I have no doubt that at least 80% of Americans would not be able to satisfy this Latvians questions. These are simple items that everyone ought to know, plain and simple. The next time you go to the polls, I hope you encounter a simple civic test. I'm confident that this will filter out about half of would-be voters.

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