Republican message, mission, and principles have been the focus of some posts–and sharp reader comments–on this blog already. I like all of it. I agree with all it. But I think before we get there, we have to start with what we have; namely, most Americans have no idea what the hell their government is supposed to do, how it is supposed to do it, and who’s in charge of whom and what and when and why.

Depressing.

Since 2006, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has scared the bejeezus out of political junkies when it publishes the results of its Civic Literacy Report. It finds, without fail, that people are frighteningly clueless. For example, among the highlights from 2008:

Less than half [of Americans surveyed] can name all three branches of the government.

Although Congress has voted twice in the last eight years to approve foreign wars, only 53% know that the power to declare war belongs to Congress. Almost 40% incorrectly believe it belongs to the president.

Only 55% know that Congress shares authority over U.S. foreign policy with the president. Almost a quarter incorrectly believe Congress shares this power with the United Nations.

Only 27% know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States.

To make matters worse, this cluelessness is institutionalized. It’s watered down in public education civics classes. (Check out the useless US History and Government exam I took to graduate from a New York State.) It’s curiously twisted in the college classes I’ve taken: I’ve heard many lectures on the necessity of government and many more bastardizations of things like the tragedy of the commons. (Unsurprisingly, I’ve read authors like Hazlitt and Bastiat only in my internship.) And then, oh and then, it’s perverted in our public discourse and–now!–our museums.

For example, the $621-million boondoggle, er, Capitol Visitor Center was opened today. In addition to protecting Sen. Reid’s delicate olfactory system, it features exhibits and information about Congress and the Constitution. But Heritage’s Matthew Spalding had this to say about the undertaking in the Washington Times today:

“I started looking at this stuff, and it’s just patently absurd,” he said. “The dominant message when you walk though the doors in this exhibit you’re hit with is the role of Congress is to fulfill our greatest aspirations. So the message you’re teaching these millions of visitors each year is the Constitution really isn’t what we thought it was; it’s the open-ended thing that’s up to Congress to decide what it means.”

So good rant, right? You’re sold that Americans don’t understand government; you probably thought this coming in. So the more interesting issue is why does it matter? How does it matter? What does it mean for Republican strategy?

Well, for starters, it means that many GOP thinkers (or GOP thinkers thinking as we’d like them to think) and many Americans do not speak the same language. Or think the same thoughts. Or have the same goals. It’s a logical outcome. If you don’t understand why (or even that) government has limited duties, why (or even that) private sector action is preferable to public, or why (or even that) limiting government power is essential to human freedom, then you’re like me in my ancient Greek class. Even when my professor (read: GOP candidate/pundit/what-have-you) says the sentence (read: policy) slowly, I still have no idea what he is saying. (Sorry, Dr. Wolkow. It’s not you; it’s me.)

I am not saying the American public is stupid. I am not saying mass education in the “right” way of thinking would make people vote Republican. There are people infinitely wiser, more learned, and more experienced than I who have examined all these subjects and lean as left as they can. I disagree with them politically, but I applaud them personally for holding well-examined political opinions.

Withstanding that, I would still argue lack of rigorous civics education -> massive (multi-generational) misunderstanding of government power -> lame (ahem) discussions of public policy and the proper role of government. In other words, when you’ve got one guy (say, I don’t know, a Democrat) promising you free health care, more jobs, and puppies for everyone and you’ve got another guy (say, I don’t know, a Republican like Sen. Coburn) telling you no, no, you can’t have those things because it’s wasteful and an improper use of federal power…you’re going to resent the latter and vote for the former. Consequences be damned. You haven’t thought about them–and you probably never will.

It’s one thing to vote for the health care/jobs/puppies platform because you believe (for some uncertain reason) it’s the government’s job to provide such things. It’s another thing to vote for that platform because you want those things so, like, why wouldn’t you try to get them? In this country, we have much too much of the latter.

So what’s the solution? I can’t conjure up a simple one, but I can think of several steps everyone can take. It’s movement and–even better–it’s movement in the right direction.

• Educate yourself. Since I am a wildly popular social butterfly, I googled “conservative reading list” before Thanksgiving break. I found National Review‘s 100 best non-fiction books of the (past) century, and then I found a few of those books in the library. I’m making slow progress (it is finals week, after all), but it’s progress. Each page read is a step closer to a more intelligent defense of my political philosophy. I owe that to the Republican Party and the conservative movement.
• Talk intelligently with others. I have become the bane of, well, all friends’ and family members’ existence because I unabashedly and unashamedly talk politics with, um, everyone. I fancy myself as not being pushy (you catch more flies with honey after all). Instead, I like to talk with people about what they think and why they think it. It’s often in the why part you can get people to argue a conservative position and not realize it…until it’s too late.
• Learn with like-minded (and, preferably, better-read) people. I’m speaking based on anecdote here, but what impresses me about Ron Paul meet-ups is their focus on ideas and substantive discussion. Find people who are interested in politics or free markets or anarcho-capitalism (they’re definitely the most fun). Learn with them. Argue with them. Think with them.

Last 5 posts by Abby Alger

• Helping the Right Online, One PDF at a Time - March 29th, 2009
• Kids These Days - March 17th, 2009
• In which I browse HR 1105, so you don't have to. - February 24th, 2009
• Re: Attacking Obama - February 5th, 2009
• What does youth voter outreach look like? - January 11th, 2009