Unfair

Much is being made of a poll that shows Americans are far more likely to know the five members of The Simpson's family than the five rights in the First Amendment. Well, of course.

If you watch The Simpsons, a show that's been on the air over 15 years, you'll certainly know their names, Even those who don't watch know Homer and Bart.

Meanwhile, who remembers, beyond freedom of speech, exactly what's in the First Amendment? I know there's an awful lot of rights in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, too, but I bet I couldn't list them all. As long as people are aware of their general rights (religious freedom, freedom to assemble), that's good enough for me.

By the way, the polls show that only one-tenth of one percent of Americans could name all five rights (as the poll sees them--I might find an extra right in the religion clauses and one less in the speech clause). The telephone survey was of only 1000 adults. This means exactly one person got this question right. Talk about your tail-end of the bell curve.