America The "Igorunt"!

I have officially given up on any illusions of an age of enlightenment.  Our country it would seem is intellectually incurious and perhaps just plain stupid.  In a recent Newsweek poll some basic questions about American history and government brought surprisingly poor results.

Here are some highlights:

• 33% of American's polled didn't know when the Declaration of Independence was adopted.  I guess that inscription carved in five foot letters on the tablet Lady Liberty holds in New York harbor is not big enough.
• Only 35% know that during the Constitutional Convention the Constitution was written.
• Only 20% could name Woodrow Wilson the president during World War I but more surprisingly only 60% could name our enemies during World War II!
• Short term memory loss?  Only 27% knew that during the Cold War our chief concern was about Communism.
• On the civics front we do no better, sadly only 39% know a Senator's term is 6 years.
• Only 1/3 of those polled knew our economic system was Capitalist or Market Economy.

So next time you believe the American public can be swayed by truth and knowledge, remember that they probably don't have a clue.  No wonder Sarah Palin manages to still draw an audience, we see her and realize we are every bit as stupid as she is.