Can you name the Five Freedoms?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (emphasis mine)

That's just good stuff. I thought I would post the First Amendment in honor of Constitution Day. Don't know about Constitution Day? What? Are you some sort of horrible Communist/Socialist/Marxist/other-ist? Just kidding. You can be forgiven for not knowing about it, it's not exactly as popular as the latest goings-on of the Octamom.

I hadn't heard about it myself until last week when a related project landed on my desk. So, to bring you up-to-speed:

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is a combined event that is annually observed in the United States on September 17. This event commemorates the formation and signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787. It also recognizes all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become US citizens.

And a bit on why it must be taught:

Higher education institutions must offer educational programs about the Constitution on Sept. 17 (Constitution Day) in order to remain eligible for Title IV funding, thanks to a provision by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) that was slipped into a 2004 spending bill.

That brings me back to the project I mentioned. Educational institutions like, like the UW where I work, are required to provide an educational experience to its students concerning the Constitution. I was tasked with updating the content on this site (and though it was not requested of me, I couldn't in good conscious allow the previous version's malformed markup and bloated CSS see the light of day).

It's true. A poll by the Freedom Museum showed only 1 in a 1000 Americans know all five freedoms, but 22% can name all five Simpsons.

"What a waste of money," I hear the Communists yelling, and the Socialists are nodding in agreement. Sad though it may be, it's not a waste. In 2006, a poll conducted by the Freedom Museum revealed that more Americans—22%—know all five of the Simpsons cartoon characters, but only 1 in a 1,000—just .1%!—know all five of the freedoms granted to us by the First Amendment. I've heard an argument positing this lack of understanding is itself further proof of the quality of American's lifestyle and security in our democracy: it's so sound that the populace doesn't even need to understand what protects them. I nearly had to sit down when I heard that. It's such a massive rationalization of ignorance it's almost impressive. No; there is simply no excuse for a tenth of one percent of us knowing the five freedoms afforded us through a document born out of the oppression of the British and defended with the service and very lives of our service people. It's an embarrassment.

So, give it a shot. Without going back to the top of this post, can you name the five freedoms? Can your friends, your parents, or your kids? No? Why is that? Sure, life's full of things to know, but these are important. Learn them. Take pride in this small act of supporting the democracy in which we live. And be thankful that we do. Oh, and don't forget to celebrate Constitution Day.

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