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A Chart to Ponder

America’s 250th edition.

Steven L. Taylor
13

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Sooo, the following is a good example of why I am skeptical of “messaging” arguments in our broader politics. I mean, this is a lot easier of an issue than health care, education, immigration, or trans rights, and yet…

Via a survey from the Cato Institute: New Poll: Nearly Half of Americans Don’t Know What America’s 250th Is Celebrating.

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13 responses to “A Chart to Ponder”

  1. Mu Yixiao Avatar
    Mu Yixiao

    I’ve seen this headline in multiple places, and… I don’t believe it.

    12% of US adults under 30 are licensed to pilot a submarine. (Tom Scott video)

    There’s also a phenomenon–the name of which I can’t remember–that says about 4% of survey takers will say that the world is run by ancient lizard people.

    I’m going to guess that a significant portion of the 23% “unsure” are people who didn’t want to answer but were too polite to tell the survey person to fuck off. I can see “end of the war” and “signing the Constitution” as being a misunderstanding of “America’s birthday” or “Independence Day” for some people, but 47% of Americans not knowing what yesterday meant? I’m not buying it.

    1. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
      Steven L. Taylor

      I was going to repond here, but I ended up with a post’s worth of material, which I wrote up partially in a spirit of levity, but also a serious set of personal anecdotes that make me inclined to believe the survey.

  2. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    I’m guilty of glancing at your post then going to the link and skimming it.

    A lot of the questions struck me as a bit off. For instance, “What is the main purpose of the U.S. Constitution?” My answer would be either: “to establish the basic structure of government” or “that’s complicated”. Their answer was “to establish and limit the powers of the federal government”. (OK, it was multiple choice and “that’s complicated” wasn’t a choice.) They made a weirdly big deal of “socialism” v “capitalism” and of the 1619 Project and a number of other things.

    Then I scrolled back to the top and finally noticed it’s effing Cato.

    3
    1. Kylopod Avatar
      Kylopod

      Especially when you consider the historical context that the Constitution was a direct reaction to the failures of the Articles of Confederation, which had created an extremely weak national government, focusing on the ways in which the Constitution limited federal powers is deeply misleading. It was definitely an expansion of those powers relative to what came immediately before.

      4
    2. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
      Steven L. Taylor

      I would note it is a Morning Consult poll, and they are reputable pollsters.

      I think that the basic data are sound, therefore, even if some of the interpretations may not be.

    3. Tony W Avatar
      Tony W

      Based on my Constitutional law classes in college, I think I would have to start with “protect the rights of the minority against majority rule.”

  3. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    To be fair, if you were to look at the nation as it is now, I’m not sure what we were celebrating either.

  4. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    At least one of those Americans is a member of Congress.

    Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
    @RepLuna

    Our Founding Fathers did not anticipate the Birth Tourism industry. When the 14th Amendment was drafted, they didn’t anticipate China exploiting this. If we allow this to continue our country will be overtaken by foreign nationals that hate our country and want to see the United States fall.

    Believing that it was the Founding Fathers who drafted the 14th Amendment is very on brand for these bozos.

    8
    1. Jen Avatar
      Jen

      …and one of our Cabinet Secretaries. Doug Burgum was on TV a week or so ago, saying that we had George Washington as president on the nation’s first birthday, Teddy Roosevelt for our 125th, and Donald Trump for the 250th…

      Which, of course is wrong on two counts. Washington wasn’t president until 1789, and McKinley was president on July 4, 1901.

      I 100% believe the survey, despite coming from Cato.

      3
      1. Kylopod Avatar
        Kylopod

        I could almost give the TR thing a pass as he did become president just two months later, but forgetting about the entire 12-year period of the US under the Articles of Confederation is a depressingly common error.

        3
    2. Mu Yixiao Avatar
      Mu Yixiao

      Believing that it was the Founding Fathers who drafted the 14th Amendment is very on brand for these bozos.

      They don’t believe that. They’re using it as a way to influence people who want a reason to hate other people.

      3
      1. Kurtz Avatar
        Kurtz

        Luna may or may not believe that. But her belief and your assessment of her intent are not mutually exclusive.

        I also think it’s possible the wording is poor. Or that a staffer wrote it.

        Of course, with the exception of the last possibility, none of the options reflect well upon her.

  5. Kurtz Avatar
    Kurtz

    Holy crosstabs!

    Congress gives too much of its lawmaking power to residents and federal agencies.

    TOTAL AGREE (strongly agree-somewhat agree):

    Dem: 74% (45-29)
    Independent: 58% (28-28)
    GOP: 53% (21-38)

    It is reasonable to think that the partisan split is a function of a combination of the party in the White House and recent news.

    But this is an odd split.

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