Don't Sweat the Small Stuff 46

Selling the Tetons

The State of Wyoming may be selling 1,366 acres in the Grand Teton National Park. The state, which has been getting $3,000 a year by leasing the land for grazing, is asking $125 million. Imagine what the federal government could raise if it sold off its land holdings. We could actually pay off a large part of the national debt. Unless of course, Congress decided to throw the money down some sewer like nationalized health care.

And They Get to Vote
A poll taken by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found that 26 percent of those questioned did not know from which country the United States won its independence. Twenty percent didn't bother to even guess, while 6 percent named a country other than Great Britain, including China, Mexico, and Japan. Apparently all of that money that we've been throwing at public education is starting to pay off.

Perhaps worse than this ignorance of one of the most basic facts of American history is that these individuals get to vote. I think it is fairly safe to say that anyone who doesn't know about the Revolutionary War is certainly not going to understand the proper role of government, the principles on which this nation was founded, or the sanctity of individual rights. They will be easily influenced by any charlatan who panders to their whims.

Polls like this make we wonder if some kind of test should be required for voting.