In a perfect world, an American who might not know the name of the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve would still be conscious the system’s function. If a citizen isn’t sure of which foreign country holds the most of our country’s debt, they would ideally still know our standing in the international market, and if the American automaker that received the most substantial loan from the United States does not immediately come to mind, the average American could hopefully &- at least in broad strokes &- still explain the economic implications of the auto bailout.
According to a recent News IQ quiz administered by the Pew Research Center, though, less than 60 percent of American citizens have basic knowledge of American politics. At a point in time during which social and economic initiatives are unyieldingly pervasive in news and pop culture (how many times has the president been on The Jay Leno Show now?) it is troubling that out of 12 questions, answering 5.3 correctly stands as the quiz’s average score and one that counted as passing. Furthermore, it speaks volumes on how little we pay attention to the news that we do read, or the analysis that we hear. Even an infrequent “Daily Show” viewer should have some understanding of Dow Jones.
The Center’s quiz asked a few more than 1,000 Americans of all shapes and sizes, in multiple-choice format, about modern, relevant topics surrounding American politics; including Hillary Clinton’s current profession and the geography of the Middle East. While it is reasonable that a given test-taker might not know who exactly Timothy Geithner is, the thought that he or she might not know, either, which party holds a majority in the House of Representatives seems almost incomprehensible. Today’s state of American politics is not quiet or safe, and every voter or non-voter in this country has something at stake, financially or otherwise. Beyond the fact that ignorance of our government is personally detrimental, it also indicates how little we know of our country’s history, and how far we have departed from its fundamental ideals.
Americans cannot possibly progress as a country of hundreds of millions if each piece of the puzzle does not know the critical points of where it came from and where it is headed. In the language of American politics, fluency is not required, but a conversational proficiency should be. The information is out there, and it should be consciously consumed.
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