Politickles

Feel free to publish, post, or pass on Your Weekly Politickle by F.R. Duplantier:

DEPENDENCE DAY
“I remember how some of us tried:
How we fought, how we failed, how we cried,
How we few knew the worth
Of this last hope on earth.
I was there when America died.”

From the archive:

REPUBLIC
Our Creator has blessed us a lot
Since the sound of that round-the-world shot,
But how long will we be
Still the land of the free
If the people don’t know what we’ve got?
2011

REVOLTING DEVELOPMENT
Revolution’s a natural desire
When we lack what our natures require,
But it loses its glow
When oppressed people go
From the frying pan into the fire.
2011

INDEPENDENCE DAY
All the fireworks exploding on high,
Celebrating the Fourth of July,
Symbolize how we fought
For that world-changing thought:
If we cannot live free, we shall die.
2008

WORLD FREEDOM
If freedom can come to Romanians,
Albanians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians,
Why must others abide
While their freedom’s denied:
Brother Syrians, Saudis, Iranians?
(2006)

REVOLUTION REVERIE
I attend every fireworks show
With the spirits of men you may know:
General Washington,
Thomas Jefferson,
Adams, Madison, and Monroe.
2006

ANTHEM FELLOW
With Bates, Berlin, and Key,
I salute this “land of the free,”
This “land that I love . . .
With the light from above,”
Stretched “from sea to shining sea.”
2002

FLAG POLL
As a gift for every descendant
In a Pledge of Allegiance amendment,
Would it be permissible
After “indivisible”
To add “sovereign and independent”?
2001

Last week’s limerick:

CEREALISM
“Here’s a great idea, what do you think:
The Trix Rabbit ‘comes out’ with a wink,
While Count Chocula warms
To the Leprechaun’s charms
And the Jolly Green Giant wears pink?”

Hillsdale College has launched a major national campaign to educate millions of citizens about the meaning and history of the U.S. Constitution as an online course, Constitution 101, and it’s free!

If you can’t answer these 32 questions, you should sign up for Constitution 101.

In the meantime, you can get hooked on civics with the History Chant, a 45-verse jump rope rap that highlights the unique features of American history and government.

Below are the questions from a midterm exam I prepared for a civics class for homeschooled teenagers. Every American voter should know the answers.

1. Name the three classes of citizens in Plato’s Republic.

2. According to Aristotle, what are the three proper forms of government?

3. What are the perverted forms called?

4. What is the difference between the good and bad forms?

5. What is the essence of Locke’s “social contract”?

6. Why does treason never prosper?

7. Cite one significant difference between the American & French Revolutions.

8. What historical event is commemorated by “World Freedom Day” (November 9^th) ?

9. Why is our government divided into three branches?

10. Name the three branches.

11. Which branch is mentioned first in the Constitution (Article I)?

12. What’s the minimum age for President?

13. How long is a Representative’s term?

14. True or False: The terms of all elected Representatives expire at the same time.

15. How many Representatives does each state have?

16. How long is a Senator’s term?

17. How were Senators originally chosen?

18. Which chamber of Congress has the power to impeach the President?

19. In which chamber do revenue bills originate?

20. Why does the Constitution distinguish between “raising” armies and “maintaining” a navy?

21. What was the fractional value of a slave in the antebellum census?

22. What incentive did this valuation offer?

23. Which presidential candidate won the popular vote in 2000?

24. Who’s more likely to become President, Sean Penn or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

25. How long does a Supreme Court Justice serve?

26. Cite three restrictions on suffrage.

27. Name the four freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

28. What is “double jeopardy”?

29. True or False: The federal government can exercise any power not expressly denied to it by the Constitution.

30. True or False: The Declaration asserts that “all men are equal.”

31: Which of the following men did not sign the Declaration: George Washington, John Adams, John Hancock, Ben Franklin?

32. Cite three infringements on the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Need to bone up a bit? Here’s a good place to start.

"A republic," said Franklin, "if you can keep it!"

Feel free to publish, post, or pass on Your Weekly Politickle by F.R. Duplantier:

REPUBLIC
Our Creator has blessed us a lot
Since the sound of that round-the-world shot,
But how long will we be
Still the land of the free
If the people don’t know what we’ve got?

From the archive:

INDEPENDENCE DAY
All the fireworks exploding on high,
Celebrating the Fourth of July,
Symbolize how we fought
For that world-changing thought:
If we cannot live free, we shall die.
2008

REVOLUTION REVERIE
I attend every fireworks show
With the spirits of men you may know:
General Washington,
Thomas Jefferson,
Adams, Madison, and Monroe.
2006

ANTHEM FELLOW
With Bates, Berlin, and Key,
I salute this “land of the free,”
This “land that I love . . .
With the light from above,”
Stretched “from sea to shining sea.”
2002

FLAG POLL
As a gift for every descendant
In a Pledge of Allegiance amendment,
Would it be permissible
After “indivisible”
To add “sovereign and independent”?
2001

Last week’s limerick:

DREAM JOB
“How things change from day to day,
What’s taboo becomes okay:
Though once arrested
For having molested,
I now work for TSA!”

Teach your kids “The History Chant” and they’ll know more about America than our president!

When NEWSWEEK recently asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to take America’s official citizenship test, 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. – Newsweek

Solutions

Voter’s Test

INDEPENDENCE DAY
All the fireworks exploding on high,
Celebrating the Fourth of July,
Symbolize how we fought
For that world-changing thought:
If we cannot live free, we shall die.
2008

REVOLUTION REVERIE
I attend every fireworks show
With the spirits of men you may know:
General Washington,
Thomas Jefferson,
Adams, Madison, and Monroe.
2006

ANTHEM FELLOW
With Bates, Berlin, and Key,
I salute this “land of the free,”
This “land that I love . . .
With the light from above,”
Stretched “from sea to shining sea.”
2002

FLAG POLL
As a gift for every descendant
In a Pledge of Allegiance amendment,
Would it be permissible
After “indivisible”
To add “sovereign and independent”?
2001

Below are the questions from a midterm exam I prepared for a civics class for homeschooled teenagers. Every American voter should know the answers.

1. Name the three classes of citizens in Plato’s Republic.

2. According to Aristotle, what are the three proper forms of government?

3. What are the perverted forms called?

4. What is the difference between the good and bad forms?

5. What is the essence of Locke’s “social contract”?

6. Why does treason never prosper?

7. Cite one significant difference between the American & French Revolutions.

8. What historical event is commemorated by “World Freedom Day” (November 9^th) ?

9. Why is our government divided into three branches?

10. Name the three branches.

11. Which branch is mentioned first in the Constitution (Article I)?

12. What’s the minimum age for President?

13. How long is a Representative’s term?

14. True or False: The terms of all elected Representatives expire at the same time.

15. How many Representatives does each state have?

16. How long is a Senator’s term?

17. How were Senators originally chosen?

18. Which chamber of Congress has the power to impeach the President?

19. In which chamber do revenue bills originate?

20. Why does the Constitution distinguish between “raising” armies and “maintaining” a navy?

21. What was the fractional value of a slave in the antebellum census?

22. What incentive did this valuation offer?

23. Which presidential candidate won the popular vote in 2000?

24. Who’s more likely to become President, Sean Penn or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

25. How long does a Supreme Court Justice serve?

26. Cite three restrictions on suffrage.

27. Name the four freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

28. What is “double jeopardy”?

29. True or False: The federal government can exercise any power not expressly denied to it by the Constitution.

30. True or False: The Declaration asserts that “all men are equal.”

31: Which of the following men did not sign the Declaration: George Washington, John Adams, John Hancock, Ben Franklin?

32. Cite three infringements on the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Need to bone up a bit? Here’s a good place to start.

It’s a sad commentary on the quality of our educational system that so many Americans seem to think that Bastille Day is simply the French version of our own Independence Day. It is nothing of the sort. The American Revolution was a fight for individual liberty and against oppressive government. The French Revolution, 13 years later, produced the mindless Reign of Terror dramatized so well in Charles Dickens’ great novel A Tale of Two Cities and Baroness Orczy’s romantic adventure The Scarlet Pimpernel (both made into excellent motion pictures, starring Ronald Colman and Leslie Howard, respectively). – “Celebrate Bastille Day Without Me,” F.R. Duplantier

“Going from the frying pan into the fire.” It’s a cliché, but a good one — and it applies to most of the revolutions of the last 200+ years, beginning with the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789. A few examples:

• Louis XVI –> Robespierre
• Nicolas II –> Lenin/Stalin
• Battista –> Castro
• The Shah –> The Ayatollah
• Somoza –> Ortega

Clearly, in each case, things went from bad to worse. So, if you want peace, by all means work for justice, but steer clear of the radicals and the revolutionaries. Tyranny is not repugnant to them; they just want to be in charge of it.

The Patriot is to the American Revolution what Gone With the Wind is to the Civil War. It is, quite simply, the best movie ever made about that fateful conflict.

Teach your children the truth about America

This is what the 2008 presidential election is all about: American exceptionalism. (Public service ad by Duplantier Creative, 2001)