I heard about this on NPR this morning, and I almost couldn't believe it: A study by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found that one in three high school students believe that the First Amendment (yes, the same First Amendment that allows me to blog all of my unpopular ideas), goes too far in the rights it guarantees us. I won't repeat them here, but you can read the CNN article for more shocking statistics.
I've been thinking a lot about the growing anti-intellectualism in the context of the voting majority, but I hadn't realized that it had infected children's minds as well. I guess it only makes sense that fundamental misunderstandings about our government would be passed on. My worry is that this is only a trend that will worsen over time as these teenagers grow up, and that our government will be quickly taken over by those who would seek to exploit that ignorance, as opposed to fighting it.