How dumb are we?

Giving native-born Americans the official US Citizenship Test, as Newsweek just did, only gives sustenance to H.L. Mencken’s old saw that “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” For some reason, the magazine administered the test to 1,000 fellow citizens – and, as the editors were quick to point out, 38 percent promptly flunked. Though number theory is not my strong suit, basic arithmetic remains within the grasp of my feeble mind. Quick calculation reveals 62 percent of Americans, the majority, passed the test. That ain’t beanbag for an alleged nation of slack-jawed knuckle-draggers. Also, Newsweek doth protest too much. Yes, yes – 88 percent could not name one of writers of the Federalist Papers (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, or Publius). But c’mon – anyone without a passionate or professional interest in American history would struggle with that one. Perhaps this bout of lazy journalism by Newsweek was unavoidable. After all, nothing else of import is happening in the world this week, right?