UNIVERSITY
Postman, in Amusing Ourselves to Death, believes the dominant mode of
communication (oral, written, or visual) has a dramatic influence on how the culture
perceives truth and authority. T/f - ANSWER-True
Cultures based on the written word tend to value argument and reason, while cultures
built around visual communication value appearance and emotion. t/f - ANSWER-True
The transition to a visual culture went in this order:
books/text-->photograph-->radio-->television/image t/f - ANSWER-False
Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes television favors action and
movement, so it struggles to portray thinking. t/f - ANSWER-True
Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) sees tv news as the one part of television that has
largely remained factual and informative. t/f - ANSWER-False
Postman argues (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) tv is not just an influence on our
culture, but in some ways IS our culture. T/F - ANSWER-True
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) argues the Lincoln-Douglas debates were
unsophisticated compared to modern political rhetoric. T/F - ANSWER-False
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes the "Peek-a-Boo" culture really
began with the inventions of the photograph and the telegraph. T/F - ANSWER-True
Postman believes the contemporary American culture is more like what Orwell
described in 1984. T/f - ANSWER-False
Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) thinks religion, especially Christianity, is hard,
doctrinal, and complex, which makes it a poor fit for tv portrayals. t/f - ANSWER-True
Politicians are essentially sold as products in a television culture. They veer toward
slogans and simplicity and away from complexity and nuance t/f - ANSWER-True
TV, for all its flaws, at least adequately prepares voters as they attempt to hold
politicians responsible for their actions. t/f - ANSWER-False
,Television has had a significant impact on education by conditioning students to require
entertainment in the classroom--according to Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) t/f -
ANSWER-False
Wilson (The New Freedom) argues that America's attachment to its founding
documents is one of its strengths. t/f - ANSWER-False
For progressives, liberty, not equality, appears to be the key political value. t/f -
ANSWER-False
Roosevelt ("State of the Union Message...") sees rights in largely economic, as opposed
to legal, terms t/f - ANSWER-False
Wilson argues that constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency must be rigidly
adhered to. t/f - ANSWER-False
In his 2nd Inaugural Address, Reagan shows a significant disconnect between himself
and America's Founders. t/f - ANSWER-False
Reagan emphasizes governmental solutions to the most significant problems that
confront us. t/f - ANSWER-False
For Russell Kirk and his Ten Conservative Principles, human nature is a constant,
unchanging aspect of political reality. t/f - ANSWER-True
Russell Kirk, in his Ten Conservative Principles, resists change of all sorts. t/f -
ANSWER-False
In Murray Rothbard's For a New Liberty, he attempts to equate individual and
governmental morality, thereby arguing what is immoral for one ought to be immoral for
the other. t/f - ANSWER-True
Murray Rothbard, in For a New Liberty, thinks ALL organizations are coercive, so
governments are not meaningfully different from corporations or other entities. t/f -
ANSWER-False
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise in the Dred
Scott case. t/f - ANSWER-False
According to Abraham Lincoln in his Dred Scott speech, the Declaration of
Independence did not intend to declare each and every person free in every respect at
that time, but rather to establish a principle of freedom - ANSWER-True
The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision ruled that African Americans were included in the
Declaration of Independence and that the Founders intended them to become citizens.
t/f - ANSWER-False
, King saw white Christians as an asset in his struggle. t/f - ANSWER-False
King believed laws could be just on their face but still be applied unjustly. t/f - ANSWER-
True
King (in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail") believed that...
A. white Christians have been a tremendous help in his struggles for equality.
B.all laws must be obeyed regardless of their justice.
C. African Americans should be patient and wait for the system to change.
D. the church should shape culture as opposed to reflecting culture.
E. None of the above are correct. - ANSWER-D. the church should shape culture as
opposed to reflecting culture.
In King's "Letter," he argues that to be just, laws must...
a. apply to everyone equally.
b. be made using the input of people potentially affected.
c. not degrade human dignity.
d. all of the above - ANSWER-d. all of the above
In Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court determined that ______ are _____ because
_____.
a. school-sponsored graduation prayers; unconstitutional; they are psychologically
coercive
b. moments of silence; constitutional; there is no coercion involved
c. segregated schools; inherently unequal; of the psychological stigma involved
d. laws with a secular purpose; constitutional; there is not a solely religious motivation -
ANSWER-a. school-sponsored graduation prayers; unconstitutional; they are
psychologically coercive
Jefferson ("Letter to the Danbury Baptists") thinks that government and religion must
work together for the good of the country. t/f - ANSWER-false
In Lee v. Weisman, the Supreme Court determined that prayer in a public school
graduation ceremony violates the US Constitution's Establishment Clause. t/f -
ANSWER-true
Thomas Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists claims that government can regulate
religious beliefs, but not actions. t/f - ANSWER-false
Mill (On Liberty) thinks that if even one person holds a contrary opinion, the majority
should not coerce that person to change their mind or suppress their freedom of
speech. t/f - ANSWER-true