how free are we (really?)

In April there will be a new museum opening up in Chicago which will attempt to inspire and educate young and old alike about freedom (or lack thereof) in the states.

In fact, The McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum has already caused a stir by placing ads like these around the city.

Some interesting tid bits of info: The museum financed a random telephone survey of 1,000 American adults and found that only about one in four Americans (28 percent) were able to name more than one of the five fundamental freedoms granted to them by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Sad, eh?

But is our collective ignorance really that bad?!!! I found this random blog where a linguist breaks down the museums press release only to uncover what most sneaky marketers already know: word play can make all the difference in selling something.

Being that as it may, I plan on checking out the museum once it opens. In my opinion, it's a much needed fresh and inspiring idea. I just hope the museum doesn't try to sugarcoat the current realities of the American Dream by saying "there was slavery, then there was suffrage, then there was the civil rights movement...now....America is simply perfect!!" I think I just might puke.

Oh! The museum's website also contains a Freedom IQ test for people to check their savvy. (Click on "Am I free?" on the toolbar, then click Take the freedom quiz on the bottom right).