The charts above are from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. It shows the results of a survey they did between August 9th and 13th of a random national sample of 1,013 adults, with a margin of error of 3.7 points.
Sadly, the results show that too many Americans are ignorant of the Constitution, and the rights and government derived from it.
More than half of the public (53%) don't think someone in the country illegally has any rights under the Constitution. That is wrong. Anyone in this country, whether a citizen or not and whether here legally or not, has rights under the Constitution -- especially dealing with the rule of law. For instance, everyone has the same constitutional rights when dealing with the police or the court system.
The second chart shows the rights listed when respondents were asked to name the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. A ridiculous 37% couldn't name a single right, and no right was named by more than 48%.
The final chart shows the result when respondents were asked to name the three branches of the U.S. government. Only a quarter (25%) could name all three -- executive, legislative, and judicial. Nearly a third (33%) could not name a single branch of the government.
The survey's results are pathetic, and should worry anyone who loves our democratic system of government. How can we sustain our democracy with this level of ignorance among the population?
