I Know My Rights!

Well, actually, in a survey conducted by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in Chicago, it seems that most of us don’t or at least we don’t know the five freedoms protected by the 1st Amendment. When 1,000 adults were asked to name the five freedoms only about 28% could name more than one. In contrast, 52% could name more than one of the cartoon characters featured in the Simpsons.

Freedom of Speech was the best known and the Freedom to Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances the least known. The percentage of people that identified each of the five freedoms was as follows:

Freedom of Speech – 69%
Freedom of Religion – 24%
Freedom of the Press – 11%
Freedom to Assemble – 10%
Freedom to Petition for a Redress of Grievances – 1%

Only 1 in 1,000, .1%, could name all five freedoms compared with 22% that could name all five Simpson family members and 25% that could name all three American Idol judges. To be fair some folks just got their amendments mixed up. 55% identified Trial by Jury (7th Amendment) and 38% Freedom from Self-incrimination (5th Amendment) as part of the 1st Amendment. Hmmm, what do you suppose that 38% thought the phrase “taking the 5th Amendment” meant?

Then we get the idiot factor. Amazingly 36% thought that the 1st Amendment protected the right of women to vote (19th Amendment), 21% thought it protected the right to own pets and 20% the right to drive a car!

The right to own pets? We let these people vote? I’ll bet they all voted for Bush. WTF is wrong with us!

Now I took the test before reading the survey and I have to admit that I could identify three of the Simpsons (Bart, Homer and Marge), one of the American Idol judges (Paula Abdul because I just watched Bill Maher last night and he had a New Rule about her) and, I have to say four of the freedoms because I lumped Freedom to Assemble and Petition for a Redress of Grievances together as one freedom. I forgot about the comma so I can say I learned something, or rather that I relearned something.

One doesn’t think of the Freedom to Petition too much. I guess every time any of us sends a “you have got to be kidding me” e-mail to a congressman we’re exercising that freedom in addition to freedom of speech.

Anyway, the museum looks like a pretty cool place.

McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum