is ignorance bliss?

Recently, 1,000 Americans took the U.S. Citizenship Test provided by NEWSWEEK. 38% of those 1,000 Americans failed the test. This staggering percentage raises valid concerns for the future state of the country. According to the NEWSWEEK article which compiled the test results, "29 percent couldn’t name the vice president, seventy-three percent couldn’t correctly say why we fought the Cold War, forty-four percent were unable to define the Bill of Rights, and 6 percent couldn’t even circle Independence Day on a calendar." Although this ignorance and lack of interest in civic affairs has been increasingly apparent for centuries, it's argued that the current, rapidly changing times cause this "civic ignorance" to present serious problems for future generations.

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I feel that this lack of concern and utter disregard is inexcusable. Under certain circumstances, the vice president may serve in the president's place and yet 29% of the 1,000 Americans who took the test don't even know his name. For the 6% who didn't know the date of Independence Day, it's sad to think that people celebrate a holiday without even knowing the reasoning behind it. The date honoring the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and our resulting independence from Great Britain has become overshadowed by cookouts and fireworks and people seem to lose sight of the purpose behind the celebration.

Although, with the changing times, priorities too, have shifted. We tend to place a greater emphasis on unimportant and useless information. Celebrities have become household names, yet we struggle to identify our country's leaders. We go to a party and know whose birthday it is, yet we celebrate the Fourth of July without understanding why and without the acknowledgment of the birth of our nation as we know it. We only take the time to care about the things that seem to directly affect us.

However, whether or not we choose to realize it, everything that is happening around us affects us in some way or another, whether directly or indirectly. History is being made every day and it's important to be aware of the past, as well as the present, because history does repeat itself and it will affect our future.