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posted by martyb on Thursday October 04 2018, @09:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the 19-percent dept.

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation reports:

Just a third of Americans can pass a multiple choice "U.S. Citizenship Test", fumbling over such simple questions as the cause of the cold war or naming just one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for.

And of Americans 45 and younger, the passing rate is a tiny 19 percent, according to a survey done for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Worse: The actual test only requires that 60 percent of the answers be correct. In the survey, just 36 percent passed.

Among the embarrassing errors uncovered in the survey of questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test and conducted by Lincoln Park Stragtegies:

  • 72 percent of respondents either incorrectly identified or were unsure of which states were part of the 13 original states.
  • 24 percent could correctly identify one thing Benjamin Franklin was famous for, with 37 percent believing he invented the lightbulb.
  • 12 percent incorrectly thought WWII General Dwight Eisenhower led troops in the Civil War.
  • 2 percent said the Cold War was caused by climate change.

Also at Sputnik and The Tri-City Herald


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @11:13PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @11:13PM (#744381)

    Duterte, Kim, and Xi are all people that Trump needs to deal with. Getting cooperation means both carrot and stick. If it helps to make a foreign leader look good to his people, Trump does that. If an insulting tweet might be better ("Rocketman" eventually leading peace) then Trump does that. If you try all carrot (as Obama did) or all stick (closer to Bush Jr.) then you won't get as far.

    Some foreign leaders, particularly Duterte, are dealing with severe poverty. Fancy judicial systems are pure fantasy. Duterte is forced to make some difficult choices. If he were to run a judicial system in the style of the US one, it would be a disaster. A few outcomes are possible. One is that it is understaffed and backlogged, so crime is almost never punished and the place goes through anarchy as gangs fight for territory. (then a strongman finally takes control and does as Duterte is doing today) Another possible outcome is that the system is properly staffed, and the country prints money to pay for it, and hyperinflation happens, and... we're back to anarchy and gangs.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @12:57AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @12:57AM (#744414)

    Trump's admiration of Duterte, Kim, and Xi means the carrot and the stick are involved in a hand job.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @03:16AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @03:16AM (#744485)

      I have been voting in elections for 35 years. I did not vote for Trump (or Hillary) in 2016. The current state of the Democratic Party and those who have lost their minds over Trump have convinced me to do something I never would have imagined doing just two years ago. On election day, I intend to vote a straight Republican Party ticket for all offices. The thing is, I think our Republican gubernatorial candidate is a total fuckwit, but the Democrats are literally irrational these days. Until Democrats break out of this crazyfest, I cannot and will not vote for anyone laying claim to the party of insanity.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @04:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @04:58AM (#744517)

        As they say, it has to get a lot worse before it can get a lot better. America needs that second revolution, and that can't happen until we've had a one party system in full control.

        Applauds Comrade, the Homeland will be greater for your vote!