A recent story by Dafna Linzer descried her ordeal in becoming a U.S. citizen.  Outside of filing fees and paperwork, she was required to pass a written test.  This citizenship test asks basic questions about the U.S.; such as questions about American history, the constitution and how the government works (and no, “poor” is not an option). 

What was most striking was that questions either had wrong answers or answers that made no sense.  For example, “Take Question 36. It asks applicants to name two members of the president’s Cabinet. Among the correct answers is “Vice President.” The vice president is a cabinet-level officer but he’s not a Cabinet member. Cabinet members are unelected heads of executive departments, such as the Defense Department, or the State Department.”

Other questions like “what is the rule of law” don’t really make much sense.  She even consulted Judge Posner, a highly respected constitutional scholar who said that “these are all incorrect”  While it’s hard to believe that a naturalization test would require incorrect answers, it isn’t incredibly surprising.  Howver, Ms. Linser’s lawyer probably summed up what the vast majority of people do “if you get asked that question, just give the official answer.”

In actuality these questions are rather benign compared to questions about her past.  Was she a Nazi, a habitual drunkard, a polygamist, a drug-smuggler, a felon or a tax-evader?  These are the concerns of the government, more so than if a person understands how the checks-and-balances work within the government.