Lost II: Lost: A Common Cultural Knowledge

We Have Lost the Common Core of Knowledge that Served as a Cultural Bond. Is it Too Late to Reclaim It?

In a prior article, I suggested that there was a common bond of shared knowledge that, certainly in the past, facilitated discussions among people, provided a frame of reference, and allowed intelligent discourse. It would be impossible for the modern American to have a meaningful conversation and dialogue with his country-man of the 18^th or 19^th century.

I also proffered that, because of educational lapses and concepts and the failure of parents and grandparents to pass on the accumulated societal knowledge, young people today have lost much of that core. If this trend continues, I feel that it will be lost forever.

In an effort to test that thesis, I distributed a questionnaire to a number of persons in different parts of the United States. While the distribution did not meet the requirements of random surveys, I asked the persons conducting the interviews to pick respondents between 20 and 40 years of age. One group that was surveyed was a group of elementary school teachers. Because their interviews were held in the form of a group discussion, individual comments and answers were not available, but the composite answers are telling.

I am very indebted to my fellow Content Producer, Jeff Musall, who gathered many of the responses and provided much insight into the issues involved.

The following are the questions and a summary of the responses:

1. When did America declare independence from Great Britain?

Of the 120 persons asked, only 23 answered, "1776". Fourteen said that they did not know. Answers ranged from 1492 through 1884! The teachers fared little better. The majority said that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, but the year was not universally known.

2. Who was the British King at that time?

Of the ninety people asked this question, 37 knew the answer was George III. Two people responded with "Queen Elizabeth" and four, "Henry". None of the teachers knew the correct answer; their guesses were the same as the others, an almost even split between Elizabeth and Henry. Twenty people, in all, could not even hazard a guess!

3. Whom did the U.S. fight in World War II?