December 3, 2014 8:25 AM

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Proof that those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it. Poorly.

“Fox & Friends” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck this morning advocated for the idea that all Americans of voting age should have to pass a “citizenship test” before being eligible to vote. The 37-year old told her guests that she believes voting is “more meaningful” when people are able to answer questions like who wrote the Declaration of Independence or how many seats there are in the House of Representatives. Hasselbeck has railed against the federal government’s standardized testing that is currently being implemented, known as Common Core. That program, actually a bipartisan governors initiative the federal government embraced, mandates that, for example every fourth grader should know the same basic facts before moving on to fifth grade. Republicans have called it “tyranny.”…. But if “standardized” tests for voting sound familiar, they should. Hasselbeck’s knowledge of American history apparently doesn’t reach as far as segregation. From the 1880’s to 1965, many Southern states invoked unconstitutional “literacy tests” designed to disenfranchise Black voters.

Forgive me my naivete, for thinking that here in the 21st century we would have long since stopped trying to find ways to disenfranchise voters whom might not vote the “right” way. On the surface, Hasselbeck’s idea may seem benign, a way to enforce a minimum level of knowledge among those who’d want do their civic duty and vote. In the broader historical context, though, Hasselbeck is treading the same path traveled by those in the Deep South who worked so hard for so long to keep African-Americans and other non-Whites from having and exercising any civil rights.

If you think I’m making too much of this, indulge me in a little experiment if you would. Try taking the Louisiana Voter Literacy Test (circa 1964). Take it and then tell me it wasn’t designed with the express purpose of exclusion. The test, 30 questions in all, was to be completed in 10 minutes, and one incorrect answer meant a failing grade. The law authorizing the test stated that the test was to be given to anyone who couldn’t prove they had at least a fifth-grade education. In reality, the test was given to almost all non-Whites regardless of their education level, and Whites were generally exempted no matter how poorly educated they may have been.

The test is an unbelievable quagmire- questions are poorly worded, difficult to follow, and unbelievably confusing. I have a 150 IQ, and I failed it badly, as did students at Harvard who took the test. I recognize that this is not at all what Hasselbeck is advocating, but it’s a slippery slope, and the Voting Rights Act was passed to prevent this sort of not-at-all camouflaged racist disenfranchisement. Hasselbeck, even if she’s not aware of it- and I doubt she is- is advocating what can only be described as disturbing voter suppression scheme.

For someone who claims to know her American history, Hasselbeck certainly has a selective- and damned poor- understanding of it. She clearly doesn’t understand what the Civil Rights struggle was all about, and her bubble of White privilege has inured her to the historical injustices that so many African-Americans remember as if it was yesterday. That Hasselbeck could talk- even unwittingly- about turning back the clock to the days of poll taxes and literacy tests only demonstrates how thoroughly clueless she is. Sadly, this isn’t surprising given that she’s a talking head at Fox News Channel, where truth and historical accuracy are important only insofar as they can be used to support their Right-wing narrative.

WE- ALL AMERICANS- DESERVE BETTER.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 3, 2014 8:25 AM.

It's what's for dinner was the previous entry in this blog.

The good news is that we won't have to figure out how to pay for the kitchen remodel is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 6.0.2