The Gift of Citizenship

For some contemporary folks, the 1970s and early 1980s happened in the stone ages.  There was no online presence.  No DVDs or Bluerays or (gasp!) even videocassettes.

Bread for the World's message came on a filmstrip, accompanied by a cassette (complete with the bell that signaled that it was time to move to the next frame).

The narrator, actor Steve Allen, talked about another "gift" that people of faith could offer on behalf of poor and hungry people in our country and overseas.  He called it the "gift of citizenship."  And he quoted Amos 5:24

I thought about this gift of citizenship when I came across an online piece in The Christian Science Monitor.  The piece contained a comprehensive quiz with questions that would be asked for folks applying to become naturalized as U.S. citizens.

The quiz gives you 96 possible questions to answer.  In reality, the immigration tester gives applicants an oral exam with 10 questions, of which at least 6 must be answered correctly. (Incidentally, that US Citizenship and Immigration Service reports that 92 percent of applicants pass this test!)

If you follow current affairs and if you paid attention in your high school Civics or Government class, you'll come to realize that many of these questions are "no brainers."  They are basic themes related to our democracy and our government. 

Bread members Alicia Sedillo and Debbie Ruiz meet with Rep. Martin Heinrich

So how well do you think you would do in a citizenship test? Well, here's one question from the Christian Science Monitor's online quiz:

Who signs bills to become laws?

the Secretary of State
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
the Vice President
the President

Now take the full Citizenship Test You must get 58 or more of these test questions correct in order to pass.

Good Luck!