Editor's Note: Question - What does this say about public education and the news and entertainment media in the U.S.? As a contrast, people in Venezuela commonly carry a pocket-copy of the Venezuelan constitution with them and despite hundreds of years of pre-Chavez illiteracy, they know their nation's history of colonialism, independence and the ten year old Bolivarian Revolution. I grew up in the U.S. and the 4th of July was a time of hotdogs, fireworks and going to the lake for a swim. It's on the 5th of July that Venezuela celebrates her independence with hundreds of thousands in the streets declaring their continuing independence, always aware that they could at anytime, lose it. - LMB

On the Fourth of July, two young women from Venezuela were visiting and I asked them a simple question: From which country did the United States win independence?

They had no hesitation answering "England."

In this little quiz, they did better than one fourth of American citizens and better than 40 percent of Americans in their age group...

A new Marist poll released on July 2 revealed the following:

• Twenty percent of U.S. residents could not identify the USA's mother country and six percent named the wrong country, with guesses ranging from France to China.
  
  
• Forty percent of people aged 18 to 29 hadn't a clue.
  
  
• If you were an affluent Northeastern white male Baby Boomer, you were most likely to get it right. Eighty-six percent of people with incomes over $50,000, 84 percent of Northeasterners, 82 percent of whites, 81 percent of males and 79 percent of folks in the 45 to 59 age cohort knew about our national roots.
  
  
• If you were a young non-white Southern woman earning a small income, you were most likely to get it wrong. Just 56 percent of non-whites, 60 percent of 20-somethings, 63 percent of folks earning less than $50,000, 67 percent of women and 68 percent of Southerners knew it was England.

The pollsters said this could be read as good news -- 74 percent of Americans know who the guys in the red coats were! Whoopee! For me, it's hard to see the bright side. Is there any question more basic as a step toward understanding the foundations of our democratic society? And is it not troubling that so many young people, poor people and non-white folks haven't been taught, or haven't retained, such a central fact?

Gibbon said those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. I'd say a nation that fails to teach its history is simply doomed.

Seattle PI