I put part of this up in my away message, but I thought it just had to be shared with a larger audience.
A BBC article shows that Americans know more about the Simpsons than the First Amendment.
A tentative thought: is this necessarily a bad thing? As far as making friends and influencing people goes, spouting off the First Amendment would be annoying, while being able to talk about Homer and Marge means you "get it." And, honestly, if the government comes after you, what's rhetoric got to do with it? I mean, if a SWAT team comes after you and you say "you're violating my First Amendment rights," they don't just stop, right? Perhaps a thorough knowledge of the Amendments is really only practical for lawyers. It is only through lengthy court cases that the Amendments are actually applied, anyway.
I think the fact that 1 in 5 Americans thinks the "right to own a pet" is in the First Amendment is a hoot.
1 comment:
I'll alert him to it.
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