PAC FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
True or False: Postman argues (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) TV is not just an
influence on our culture, but in some ways IS our culture. - Answers - True
True or False: Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) argues the Lincoln-Douglas
debates were unsophisticated compared to modern political rhetoric. - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes the "Peek-a-Boo"
culture really began with the inventions of the photograph and the telegraph. - Answers
- True
True or False: Postman believes the contemporary American culture is more like what
Orwell described in 1984. - Answers - False
True or False: 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. - Answers - True
True or False: Cultures based on the written word tend to value argument and reason,
while cultures built around visual communication value appearance and emotion. -
Answers - True
True or False: The transition to a visual culture went in this order:
books/text-->photograph-->radio-->television/image - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes television favors action
and movement, so it struggles to portray thinking. - Answers - True
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) sees tv news as the one part of
television that has largely remained factual and informative. - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) thinks religion, especially Christianity, is
hard, doctrinal, and complex, which makes it a poor fit for tv portrayals. - Answers - True
True or False: Politicians are essentially sold as products in a television culture. They
veer toward slogans and simplicity and away from complexity and nuance. - Answers -
True
True or False: TV, for all its flaws, at least adequately prepares voters as they attempt
to hold politicians responsible for their actions. - Answers - False
, True or False: Television has had a significant impact on education by conditioning
students to require entertainment in the classroom--according to Postman (Amusing
Ourselves...) - Answers - True
True or False: For progressives, liberty, not equality, appears to be the key political
value. - Answers - False
True or False: Wilson argues that America's attachment to its founding documents is
one of its strengths. - Answers - False
True or False: Roosevelt ("State of the Union Message...") sees rights in largely
economic, as opposed to legal, terms (ex. a livable income, a job, health care and
education, etc.). - Answers - True
True or False: Wilson argues that constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency
must be rigidly adhered to. - Answers - False
True or False: Churchill argues that socialism is winning by linking patriotism or
nationalism with its efforts to centralize executive power. - Answers - True
True or False: Churchill (What Good's a Constitution?) values the State over the Citizen.
- Answers - False
True or False: Churchill thought that economic crises justified centralizing executive
power outside constitutional limits, in contrast to FDR. - Answers - False
According to Churchill (What Good's a Constitution?), _______ is a proper institutional
protections for individual rights and liberties in America:
a.) Judicial dependence on the legislature
b.) Increased concentration of power in the executive
c.) Economic well-being
d.) Rigidity of the written constitution - Answers - d.) Rigidity of the written constitution
Which of the following is NOT one of Churchill's (What Good's a Constitution?)
standards for civilization:
a.) The degree of freedom possessed by the citizen
b.) Justification of government controls over the individual in an economic crisis as
during a time of war
c.) Government officials acknowledging they are servants
d.) Rule of law that allows for free speech, thought, and action
e.) The ability to criticize or sue the government for infringement of rights - Answers - b.)
Justification of government controls over the individual in an economic crisis as during a
time of war
True or False: Reagan shows a significant disconnect between himself and America's
Founders. - Answers - False
ANSWERS
True or False: Postman argues (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) TV is not just an
influence on our culture, but in some ways IS our culture. - Answers - True
True or False: Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) argues the Lincoln-Douglas
debates were unsophisticated compared to modern political rhetoric. - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes the "Peek-a-Boo"
culture really began with the inventions of the photograph and the telegraph. - Answers
- True
True or False: Postman believes the contemporary American culture is more like what
Orwell described in 1984. - Answers - False
True or False: 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. - Answers - True
True or False: Cultures based on the written word tend to value argument and reason,
while cultures built around visual communication value appearance and emotion. -
Answers - True
True or False: The transition to a visual culture went in this order:
books/text-->photograph-->radio-->television/image - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes television favors action
and movement, so it struggles to portray thinking. - Answers - True
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) sees tv news as the one part of
television that has largely remained factual and informative. - Answers - False
True or False: Postman (Amusing Ourselves...) thinks religion, especially Christianity, is
hard, doctrinal, and complex, which makes it a poor fit for tv portrayals. - Answers - True
True or False: Politicians are essentially sold as products in a television culture. They
veer toward slogans and simplicity and away from complexity and nuance. - Answers -
True
True or False: TV, for all its flaws, at least adequately prepares voters as they attempt
to hold politicians responsible for their actions. - Answers - False
, True or False: Television has had a significant impact on education by conditioning
students to require entertainment in the classroom--according to Postman (Amusing
Ourselves...) - Answers - True
True or False: For progressives, liberty, not equality, appears to be the key political
value. - Answers - False
True or False: Wilson argues that America's attachment to its founding documents is
one of its strengths. - Answers - False
True or False: Roosevelt ("State of the Union Message...") sees rights in largely
economic, as opposed to legal, terms (ex. a livable income, a job, health care and
education, etc.). - Answers - True
True or False: Wilson argues that constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency
must be rigidly adhered to. - Answers - False
True or False: Churchill argues that socialism is winning by linking patriotism or
nationalism with its efforts to centralize executive power. - Answers - True
True or False: Churchill (What Good's a Constitution?) values the State over the Citizen.
- Answers - False
True or False: Churchill thought that economic crises justified centralizing executive
power outside constitutional limits, in contrast to FDR. - Answers - False
According to Churchill (What Good's a Constitution?), _______ is a proper institutional
protections for individual rights and liberties in America:
a.) Judicial dependence on the legislature
b.) Increased concentration of power in the executive
c.) Economic well-being
d.) Rigidity of the written constitution - Answers - d.) Rigidity of the written constitution
Which of the following is NOT one of Churchill's (What Good's a Constitution?)
standards for civilization:
a.) The degree of freedom possessed by the citizen
b.) Justification of government controls over the individual in an economic crisis as
during a time of war
c.) Government officials acknowledging they are servants
d.) Rule of law that allows for free speech, thought, and action
e.) The ability to criticize or sue the government for infringement of rights - Answers - b.)
Justification of government controls over the individual in an economic crisis as during a
time of war
True or False: Reagan shows a significant disconnect between himself and America's
Founders. - Answers - False
