Posted on 10/21/2004 9:26:57 AM PDT by vannrox
New York, May 29, 2002 – Almost two-thirds of Americans think Karl Marx’s maxim, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” was or could have been written by the framers and included in the Constitution, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by Columbia Law School.
“That result is troubling for a constitutional democracy in which popular consent underwrites the government’s legitimacy,” said Columbia Law Professor Michael Dorf, who wrote a column offering his interpretation of the survey on Findlaw.com.
The survey also revealed most Americans believe that if Roe v. Wade were overturned, abortion would become illegal throughout the United States. Not so, says Prof. Dorf, who notes the distinction between what is constitutionally permitted, and what is constitutionally required. “This is at the very heart of the constitutional debate about abortion,” he said. “To judge by the rhetoric of political campaigns, one might think that abortion is the only issue for which our courts have responsibility. Pro-choice and pro-life politicians alike hammer away at the significance of judicial appointments for the abortion issue. And yet it turns out that two-thirds of Americans do not understand what is at stake.”
The American public fared better in answer to other questions on the survey, with a majority knowing the president may not suspend the Bill of Rights during a time of crisis, Supreme Court justices serve for life terms, and persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and residents of the states in which they reside.
Professor Dorf maintains that an informed public is critical, and says we may be taking what the Constitution calls “the blessings of liberty” for granted. “Although the framers of our Constitution anticipated that the courts would invalidate unconstitutional laws, they also expected that ‘primary’ responsibility for setting constitutional limits would belong to elected representatives, and thus, ultimately, to the people.”
QUESTIONNAIRE
I’d like to ask you a few questions about the United States Constitution.
C1 Does the Constitution include the following statement about the proper role of government, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
1 YES
2 NO
99 DON’T KNOW
C2 I am going to read you some statements about the Constitution. Please tell me if you think each statement is true or false. [READ AND ROTATE STATEMENTS]
1 True
2 False
99 DON’T KNOW
A. In time of war or other declared national emergency, the President may suspend the Constitution’s Bill of Rights
B. The U.S. Constitution states the following: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”
C. If the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe vs. Wade, abortion would be illegal throughout the United States
D. A Justice of the Supreme Court serves for a term of twelve years, at the conclusion of which, he or she may be appointed to a second twelve-year term by the President
Yesterday I received a miniture copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution from the Cato Institute. I definitely am going to read it thoroughly
100% of liberals wish it was in the Constitution...
I recently took a great course Re: Constitution at Holy Cross. Profs demonstrated how most folks think that the Constitution and the UN Declaration of Rights are the same thing.
Scary.
I'm not surprised. But then, more and more Federal judges seem to think that the Constitution is unconstitional.
Isn't this the guy who used to peddle golf videos on TV?
I do not consent, YOU B@ST@RDS.
It's always been my contention that a conscious effort was made long ago by the education elites to dumb down America- including not teaching the Constitution and the true history of our founding. The less that our citizens know about their rights and history, the easier it is to take advantage of their ignorance and take away those rights or bestow upon them "rights" that don't exist. We're seeing the harvest of what they've sown.
Who else Don’t Know Their Constitution???
4 or 5 of the Supreme Court Justices (Liberal)!!!!!!
I doubt that the students at Columbia Law School too much know about important parts of the Constitution, e.g., the 2nd Amendment, the Takings Clause, etc.
Dorf goes fishing is a cinematic masterpiece! Tim Conway is a comic treasure who will join Tom Bosley, Tony Danza and Rip Taylor on America's Mount Rushmore of comedy.
Owl_Eagle
" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
237 representives and 50 senators have never read the Constitution. One representive from Texas knows and understands the Constitution.
Jack
When you have the least intelligent high school students entering schools of education, and becoming teachers, you should expect the education of students as a whole to suffer. What we have in the United States public schools today are the last vestiges of the illiterate masses of the communist proletariat masquerading as educators.
It wasn't written by the "framers" but a similar version was written by our past citizens in 1916 and added to the original constitution.
It is called Amendment XVI.
When I was in high school in the 1960s in California, to pass the civics course required for graduation, we had to memorize the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the US Constitution and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and pass a very detailed examination on the Constitution. My father said when he was in high school in San Francisco in the 1920's they also had to memorize the entire Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Go figure.
"The amendment was rejected (and not subsequently ratified) by Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah."
I find this footnote interesting.
Does that mean that Connecticu,Rhode Island and Utah do not have to pay income tax?
"“That result is troubling for a constitutional democracy in which popular consent underwrites the government’s legitimacy,” said Columbia Law Professor Michael Dorf, who wrote a column offering his interpretation of the survey on Findlaw.com."
Just think how upsetting it is for those of us who live in a "REPUBLIC"-a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them."? ;)
Sounds like a partial case of "Physician, heal thyself". I thought we were a Republic with a Constitution. Not any kind of "democracy" at all?
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