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Freedom, Religion, Press...Doh!

1 March 2006 - robio - reactions

Quick, name the five members of the Simpson's family...now name five freedoms on the Constitution. You can't do it? Don't sweat it, most people can't. (Answers below)

In a contest between Americans' knowledge of "The Simpsons" and what they know about the First Amendment, Bart and Homer win hands down.

About 1 in 4 Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half of Americans can name at least two members of the fictional cartoon family, according to a survey.

The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22% of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just 1 in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms.

This shouldn't be too surprising and this really shouldn't bother anyone. Seriously, the Simpson's have been on air for seventeen years! Thanks to reruns, it's been on every day for the past ten years. Even a casual fan has seen many episodes more than once. When was the last time you we're forced to look at the Constitution, college?

We're Americans, we watch TV. My grandmother could probably tell you a lot about forensic evidence thanks to CSI. Most of my knowledge of the legal process comes from watching 'Law & Order' reruns on TNT.

Yes, people should know about that little doc call the Constitution. But in reality, I would be more concerned if you couldn't name any members of the Simpson's family. That would be sad.

Answer: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie - Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition.