Recent polls show just how confused Americans are about our system of government in general and the judiciary in particular. The founders would have found this deeply troubling, as they argued that the people must be “well-informed” and “well-instructed” to be trusted with self-government and to remain free.

A recent poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, for example, showed that just 49% say that Supreme Court justices set aside personal and political views to rule based on the law and the facts of each case. At the same time, 48% say that the Supreme Court should be made less independent so that it “listens a lot more to what the people want.”