Thursday, November 5, 2009

Maybe We Need a "No Congressman Left Behind" Act

You may have heard that there was a Tea Party-type protest on the steps of the Capitol today. Organized by Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, quite a few Republican Representatives were not only in attendance but had vital speaking roles.

First up, Congressman Todd Akin (MO-10) led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance:



He was obviously pretty excited about getting to the God part.

Contrary to what Congressman Akin believes, this bleeding-heart liberal doesn't go crazy when people say the Pledge, I go crazy when they don't know the words.

Next House Minority Leader John Boehner (OH-8) motivated the masses by quoting the Preamble to the Constitution.



Now I'm certainly no Constitutional Scholar, but I did pass 8th Grade Social Studies and my teacher, Ms. Peterson, would be very happy to know that I can still tell the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the United States Constitution (I scored a 100% on that test, but you knew that). I also still have the Schoolhouse Rock song in my head.



And here's the Declaration of Independence:



It sure would be nice if our elected officials knew what every 8th grader knows.

4 comments:

  1. Jessica, I totally agree with you. All of our elected officials should have basic social studies knowledge!! I certainly remember learning all of that when I was in grade school. I'm laughing, imagining how well they'd do on that "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" show!

    I go crazy, too, if someone doesn't know the Pledge of Allegiance words, or gets the Declaration of Independence mixed up with the Constitution's Preamble.

    And it bothers me to no end when someone doesn't know the words to the Star Spangled Banner! When I get the chance to sing the National Anthem, I sing it loud and proud!

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  2. One could argue that if Boehner is so convinced that we have the right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" that, he should be for government health care.

    I am shocked, though, that a Representative doesn't know the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration.. It's quite scary...

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  3. Bethany,

    I agree with you 100%. That said, what's truly frightening to me is the number of people who stood there listening to him and thought to themselves "Yep! THAT's the Constitution!" Too many people in our country don't know the difference between the Constitution and Declaration of Independence or the history of the Pledge. I wish our Congresspeople had to prove their intelligence and understanding of our Country's founding. Yes, in fact, I do live in my own little world.

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