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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: 5, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 05 2018, @01:25AM (5 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday October 05 2018, @01:25AM (#744443) Journal

    I don't care if immigrants know what Benjamin Franklin invented. I am not bothered if they can't recite the Gettysburg address by heart.

    I am not bothered if they have different religions, speak different languages, wear different clothes, eat strange things, or have different colored skin. All are welcome.

    But I really wish they would learn to stand in line and wait their turn. I wish they #@$(*&$% learn how to merge properly on the highway, and refrain from driving like selfish, aggressive assholes all. the. time. I wish they'd grok that littering is bad. I wish they'd learn English so that they can converse and work together with immigrants from other places, and the Americans who are already here.

    I also wish Americans would not pick up those habits. How we treat each other and how we work together are why America is a strong country, and why the countries those people are coming from are places they want to leave. The American ethos is what makes us strong. If we don't husband that and insist everyone who comes to the US gets with that program, it will weaken us as a country.

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    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @04:25AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @04:25AM (#744499)

    Look in the mirror, fool. We aren't that far from Middle easterners shooting up each other.

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 05 2018, @01:29PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday October 05 2018, @01:29PM (#744599) Journal

      I don't know what you mean exactly, because you could be referring to several different dynamics. Are you disputing the existence of an American ethos? Are you talking about immigration and the interplay of cultural norms? Are you talking about political tensions?

      Without more from you, it's hard to respond.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Friday October 05 2018, @12:55PM (2 children)

    by Kilo110 (2853) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 05 2018, @12:55PM (#744591)

    I'll give you learning english.

    But shitty driving manners? Littering? Everyone does that stuff regardless of background. Immigrants and citizens alike. Pinning that on squarely on immigrants is ignorant.

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 05 2018, @01:26PM (1 child)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday October 05 2018, @01:26PM (#744598) Journal

      No, sorry, but the ignorance is yours. There are differences. Go to China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and observe the casual manner in which people there litter. Then go to Switzerland or Japan and compare. Yes, there is some litter in those latter two, but it's orders of magnitude less. Go to Indonesia and observe how people there drive, how anything goes, and then go to Luxembourg and observe how drivers there come to a complete stop on a busy road if there's a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk who even looks like he might be thinking of crossing. Go to Beijing and observe how people form a literal scrum at a ticket window, squirming and elbowing and climbing and shoving to be the first one to thrust his money through the narrow slot in the window, past the score other pushing hands, and then go to Germany and observe how people calmly wait in line for their turn.

      Of course there are outliers in the places where people behave. But good behavior in those places are the norm, and deviation from them is discouraged. People who emigrate from countries where Malthusian behaviors are the norm, however, bring those behaviors with them and erode the norms of the civilized behaviors in the countries they go to. In turn they enable the native outliers, the ones who would have previously misbehaved and been sharply rebuked, and their numbers grow, too.

      I am pro-immigration. I am the product of immigrants. My wife is an immigrant. Immigrants have made the United States a stronger, more interesting, and dynamic society. But I am not pro-inundation. The American ethos that has bound together all those elements and made the country what it is forms the social compact that immigrants must sign onto. If they don't, then frankly they can go back to their home countries and take their behaviors with them, with no hard feelings.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Friday October 05 2018, @04:28PM

        by Kilo110 (2853) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 05 2018, @04:28PM (#744675)

        "and erode the norms of the civilized behaviors in the countries they go to. In turn they enable the native outliers, the ones who would have previously misbehaved and been sharply rebuked, and their numbers grow, too."

        I suppose this is where we disagree. I would say those people would've littered anyway regardless if they see an immigrant do it or not. Those with anger management issues while driving will always have anger management issues.

        The US society has never been considered collectivist. Individuality, being a maverick, and breaking from the norms has long been seen as a virtue in society.