It's a fair question, given the nation's anti-immigrant sentiment. Just how informed are the native born among us about the way our government works? As Borat might say,"Not so good."
The Washington Post has carried two articles on the new citizenship test. The first was printed on 12/1/06, and reports that the new 144 citizenship test questions are intended to help naturalized Americans understand how our system of government works. That's important not only for naturalized Americans, but the native born as well.
Which is why this morning's article, where a Post reporter went around asking the same citizenship questions of average American citizens, is both humorous and sad. It is also quite revealing. What the reporter realized is that a majority of the people he spoke with could not pass the test.
It might be time for Americans (the native born) to take a refresher in American civics. I certainly could not hurt the nation if we all better understood our constitution and the way the government is supposed to work.
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