Kerby Anderson
The US Constitution reminds us that the responsibility for our government rests with “we the people.” In order for us to be effective, we need to know something about our government and our history. Citizens in countries ruled by dictators don’t need to know much since the major decisions are made for them. But we Americans should be educated and informed.
Unfortunately, we are not well educated and informed. A study done by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation discovered that only one in three (36%) Americans could actually pass the US citizenship test. And I might add that you only have to get 60 percent of the questions right in order to pass the test.
For example, a majority (57%) did not know how many justices serve on the Supreme Court. Nearly three-fourths (72%) could not accurately identify which states comprised the 13 colonies. And only a quarter (24%) even knew why the American colonists fought the British in the Revolutionary War.
Most disturbing was the fact that young people performed worst on the test. You might excuse an elderly person for forgetting some facts about government or history. But less than one in five (19%) under the age of 45 could pass this test.
In previous commentaries, I have proposed a solution that some states have considered. Require students to pass the citizenship test before they graduate from high school. Consider the fact that a naturalized citizen probably knows more about America’s history and structure of government than someone who was born in this country.
Young people in America cannot pass a citizenship test for one of two reasons: either they weren’t paying attention in class or they weren’t taught this material in the first place. Let’s require students to pass a citizenship test before graduation. We require it of people who want to be American citizens. Why not require it of students who are already citizens because they were born here?

Kerby Anderson
Boys are in crisis. That should be obvious, but Dr. Warren Farrell still has to spend his first six chapters documenting it. He was on my radio program to talk about the book, The Boy Crisis, which he wrote with Dr. John Gray.
First, there is the crisis of our sons’ mental health. For example, the increase in the suicide rate among white males led to as many white male deaths as were lost to AIDS. The rate of mass shootings has increased significantly, and they are done by boys. Our daughters live in the same homes and have the same access to guns, video games, and the media. They are not killing. Our sons are.
Second is the crisis of our sons’ economic health. They are entering an economy different from their grandparents that has moved from muscle to mental, or to put it another way, from muscle to microchip. The median annual earnings of boys have dropped significantly.
Third is the crisis of our sons’ education. Over the last fifty years, the percentage of college degrees received by gender completely reversed. Females rose from 39 percent to 61 percent. Males dropped from 61 percent to 39 percent.
Less educated boys are more likely to be unemployed. But this reversal in education also affects marriage. As our sons become less educated, our daughters increasingly desire partners who are more educated.
Finally, there is a crisis of fathering. Boys growing up with less involved or non-involved fathers are more likely to face more social problems. These include dropping out of school, drinking, doing drugs, becoming delinquent, and perhaps even ending up in prison.
Pastors and Christian leaders need to focus attention on this boy crisis. We have church programs and faith-based solutions that build strong marriages and instruct in biblical parenting. The first step is to realize we are facing a boy crisis.