Vast Majority of Americans Can't Name a Single Supreme Court Justice

Nearly two-thirds of Americans were unable to name one member of the U.S. Supreme Court in a new poll by findlaw.com. Only one-third could name one justice. Practically none were able to name all 9. See more details.

This is why I always mention that America is screwed. Americans seem to lack the basic concept of civics and understanding government. This is just the latest example of why we need more civics education in this Country. But I have a feeling that the politicians like it this way. They like the idea of a poorly informed electorate. Look at what you can do with a poorly informed electorate... just look at Faux News and the Tea Party nonsense.

Hell, I can name all 9. I guess that makes me some sort of geek. Even if my brain is foggy, I can name the majority of justices - 6 or 7 - with no problem.

This is why the majority of Americans don't get upset about Miranda rules being eroded, or an immigration law in Arizona that is legally marginal at best.... nefarious at worst, and likely unconstitutional (even with the changes made to the law by Arizona politicians as a way to dodge legal challenges).

This is one of the main reasons why i'm always disgusted with the state of American politics, and the general apathy & lack of awareness of citizens.

The U.S. Is In Trouble - Students Don't Know Basic Civics

Students in Oklahoma were given a basic civics survey and only around 3% could pass:

Last month OCPA commissioned a national research firm, Strategic Vision, to determine Oklahoma public high-school students' level of basic civic knowledge. The firm's surveys have been used by Time, Newsweek, and USA Today, and National Journal's "Hotline" has cited them as some of the most accurate in the country. The margin of error for this particular survey is plus/minus three percent.

Ten questions, chosen at random, were drawn from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) item bank, which consists of 100 questions given to candidates for United States citizenship. The longstanding practice has been for candidates for citizenship to take a test on 10 of these items. A minimum of six correct answers is required to pass. Recently, the USCIS had 6,000 citizenship applicants pilot a newer version of this test. The agency reported a 92.4 percent passing rate among citizenship applicants on the first try.

Of course, immigrants have had an opportunity to study for the test-a distinct advantage-so we might not necessarily expect a 92 percent passing rate from Oklahoma's public high-school students.
On the other hand, most high-school students have the advantage of having lived in the United States their entire lives. Moreover, they have benefited from tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars being spent for their educations. Many immigrants seeking citizenship, meanwhile, often arrive penniless and must educate themselves on America's history and government.

After seeing the questions for yourself, you the reader can judge whether a 92 percent passing rate is a reasonable expectation for Oklahoma's high-school students. Unfortunately, Oklahoma high-school students scored alarmingly low on the test, passing at a rate of only 2.8 percent. That is not a misprint.

Think this is isolated to Oklahoma?

Quote:

Sadly, that result does not come as complete surprise. When the same survey was done recently in Arizona, only 3.5 percent of Arizona's high-school students passed the test.

Elected Officials Clueless about Civics

No wonder the Country is in such bad shape.