It’s basically common knowledge that Americans tend to take their rights for granted and therefore hardly understand them properly. But that doesn’t excuse the superficiality of a recent study that makes obvious observations about the general public.

The McCormick Tribune Museum recently conducted a study showing Americans know more about popular culture than they do their First Amendment rights, according to an Associated Press article. The study shows that 22 percent of respondents could name all five family members from “The Simpsons,” while only one in 1,000 could name all five rights guaranteed under the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances).

Additionally, respondents were more likely to name the three “American Idol” judges than the first three First Amendment rights. Respondents were also more likely to remember advertising slogans, and nearly 40 percent thought the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, commonly referred to as “pleading the Fifth,” was part of the First Amendment.

For the most part, the study substantiates what common knowledge already tells us. In an average day, Americans are much more likely consume popular culture than they are to see a need to fight for their rights.

Furthermore, the study fails to document how well Americans understand their rights in a practical sense – most Americans know they have rights related to free expression and what that basically means.

That being said, civil rights should be more important to the average American, if for nothing more than to avoid appearing spoiled to the rest of the world. Perhaps if civil rights were more prominent tenets of education or themes of popular culture, Americans would be more likely to understand them.

Whatever the cause for the ignorance, Americans should understand their rights more thoroughly. But comparing constitutional principles to popular culture just isn’t fair.