American Opinion: Could you pass a citizenship test? Most Americans can’t
American Opinion: Refocusing educational time on civics reinforces the importance of engaged citizens in our system of government. We can’t protect our fragile freedoms if we are ill-equipped to honor our responsibilities to each other, our institutions and ourselves. A republic that has enough self-respect to teach itself civics is a republic that will long endure.
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NAME Editorial Board | 7:30 am, Mar. 16, 2021 ×
American OpinionPaula Pandey Chhetri / Forum Design Center
If you were born in this country, there is a high probability that you know less about the Constitution and American history than do immigrants who become citizens. And various studies indicate that you might also flunk the citizenship exam.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and their spouses are fanning out across the country this week, âsellingâ the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.Â
For President Biden, the parallels between today and 2009 â when he and President Barack Obama took office amid a global financial crisis â seem to weigh heavily. Recently, Mr. Biden recalled telling President Obama that he needed to do more to emphasize how his economic rescue package helped average Americans. Mr. Obama, he said, told him he didnât want to âtake a victory lap.â The Democratsâ subsequent shellacking in the 2010 midterms is seared in the partyâs collective memory.
The
sad little scrap of paper in the Schoolhouse Rock I m Just a Bill educational cartoon has been viewed nearly 9 million times on YouTube.
That says nothing of the millions who have seen the cartoon on TV since it debuted in 1976. We re betting that many of you can hum the song and picture the bill and his red, white and blue button in your mind.
On his way to becoming a law, that sad scrap of paper offered a civics lesson that generations of children understood.
With fears of more political violence akin to the Capitol insurrection, growing cynicism in the country and a general mistrust of government, America is very much in need of a new civics lesson and new ways to teach it.
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