stupid Americans?

[Gypsy]

When are people going to learn the power of editing and wonder how many people they had to go through to get to those ones that came up with those stupid answers...

Bingo. That's what I was going to bring up as I was reading through the posts, but you said it first.

[uc pseudonym]

That's what makes me suspect that the interview was scripted. I mean, I can understand people not knowing who was in the Coalition of the Willing or being able to locate Iraq on a map, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who seriously doesn't know how many sides a triangle has.

I really hope so. The others seem sadly realistic to me, but that one I have a hard time buying. It would have been funny enough if he had even just paused before giving the answer...

Oh, that's a relief to know. 'Cause it made me sad and desparate.

It was intended to be funny (I rather doubt they were trying to make any real point, merely exploiting stereotypes about America). Certainly, ignorance is a major problem, but this exists everywhere and the video only brings it to mind.

There's also a chance the fellow was not answering the question we heard.

Ah, I hadn't considered that they might be outright duplicitous. In my mind that would cross the line from poking fun to being senselessly cruel.

When are people going to learn the power of editing and wonder how many people they had to go through to get to those ones that came up with those stupid answers...

Isn't that kind of an assumed?

I have nothing against some of the more average questions: if they asked 20 questions to almost anyone there is a good chance they might not be able to answer one or two and of course those would be shown. But other questions are really without excuse.

[Icarus]

BZZZT! Second try. "The New Colossus"...

...is engraved on a bronze plaque on the inside of the pedestal, not on her tablet.

Her name is Liberty Enlightening the World. Someone else will have to try for what's on the tablets, but for some reason I'm thinking it's the US Constitution

EDIT: I checked and I was wrong. It's not the Constitution

[termyt]

I identify with it to a point, yes, because I grew up around people who are usually type-cast as "rednecks", and so when I hear it used in the deragatory fashion, it is irritating.

That's the pitfall of stereotypes.

A red-neck is:
a) A (white) unskilled laborer who has a neck reddened by working outside all day in the sun.

b) A Southern (white) male who embraces his heritage and takes a certain amount of pride in the history of the South – including their role in the Civil War.

c) A poor, uneducated rube the doesn’t know his rear end form a hole in the ground and couldn’t find it with both hands anyways but doesn’t mind spouting his opinion (which is always wrong) on every topic known to man.

If you are a (stereo-typical) north-east liberal, then the first thought that pops into mind is “c.â€

[Sammy Boy]

The purpose of this thread was not to make fun on Americans. I just wanted to know if there are lot of people there who don't have much common knowledge, because I would find it kinda.. alarming (probably not the best word, but I can't make up another), not funny.

Hi Harina, just to clarify, I was saying that I think the video's purpose was to make fun of Americans. I wasn't saying that I think you or this thread was making fun of Americans.

I hope that cleared things up. Peace.

[righteous_slave]

Point number one: the clip may be satirical, edited, and a cheap shot, but there have been several polls, studies and tests over the years that back up what it is showing. I can't think of any numbers off the top of my head, but every couple of years you see news stories reporting a new test or survey that shows Americans know 3/4 worth of bupkis about geography, world history, US history, science and math. Often the questions do fall into the triva area, such as the order of all the presidents or the Al Smith question from mitsuki. However, there are usually more glaring common sense and common knowledge questions like the closest star or the contents of the Bill of Rights that are also failed.
point number two: the American education system stinks. I have survived through it, my mother is a teacher, my wife is a teacher, I spent a couple of years as a substitute teacher, and I have two kids presently in school and two more who will be. The system has become too reliant on test scores and state standards, so all they do is teach to the tests so they don't get any funding cuts. They are woefully underfunded, teachers woefully underpaid (proof: my wife, with a masters degree in special education was making the same amount of money her first year teaching as I was working in a meat packing plant) and too politicized. And no one is willing to help. The governments (state, fed, and local) won't give up the funds for good teachers and supplies but will happily give it to administrators (more proof, big headline the other day "Is the Hutchinson school director worht $180,000?) and new, expensive buildings. Parents are unwilling and sometimes unable to help educate their children, choosing as was noted earlier to shell out for the big screens instead of spending time with the kids, helping with homework and knowing what is going on in the schools, and helping fill in some of those giant gaps.
point three: America is a target by the world for a lot of reasons, some good, some not. I don't doubt that similar ignorance can be found around the world, and it may be as easy to find as it is here.

(steps off soapbox before it collapses)

[mitsuki lover]

I agree with you.The NEA and other American teachers' unions have a lot to be accountable for but especially the NEA.While there is a need for smaller class sizes,etc.there is also a greater need for better education.If it weren't for the bad state of affairs of some Public Schools we would not be seeing so many homeschooling their kids these days.
On the other hand liberals aren't the only ones to blame conservatives have also turned education into a political football.
Until we fix our education system and make it non-partisan and non-political again
we will continue to be the educational laughing stock of the First World.

[Technomancer]

Point number one: the clip may be satirical, edited, and a cheap shot, but there have been several polls, studies and tests over the years that back up what it is showing. I can't think of any numbers off the top of my head, but every couple of years you see news stories reporting a new test or survey that shows Americans know 3/4 worth of bupkis about geography, world history, US history, science and math.

This is part of why films like the one connected to YouTube are made]
point number two: the American education system stinks.
[/quote]

That's part of it, although I think the reasons are broader. There is for example, a well-remarked upon strain of anti-intellectualism within American culture, as well as a certain insularism. In addition, American news services are not only shallow but incredibly provincial.

[Hakaii]

Why are people so focused on the American education system and Americans in general when the world if full of stupid people.

[Lady Macbeth]

Why are people so focused on the American education system and Americans in general when the world if full of stupid people.

Because the United States controls 80% of the world's wealth, is a charter member of the United Nations, is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is the world's third largest country, has the largest national economy in the world, and despite the up-and-coming nations of China and India is still considered the world's only remaining superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Or something like that, at any rate.

You don't have to worry about stupid people who are never going to affect your life in any way when you have to worry about stupid people who could destroy everything you know and love.

"With great power comes great responsibility" isn't something that stupid people readily learn.

Thus, it becomes a point of worry when the media gives the impression that the number of stupid people in the United States is growing and that our educational system is doing nothing to correct the situation.

[Hakaii]

Because the United States controls 80% of the world's wealth, is a charter member of the United Nations, is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is the world's third largest country, has the largest national economy in the world, and despite the up-and-coming nations of China and India is still considered the world's only remaining superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Well don't you think that there is a reason that we control 80% of that wealth? I've heard comments (mostly outside of CAA) about America. The way some people say things, you'd think that all Americans were Neanderthals. Sure the education system is far from perfect, but that doesn’t constitute disrespecting Americans in general because of the incompetence of some of our population. And I stand by what I said earlier, “the world is full of stupid people.â€

[Fish and Chips]

Yeah, Americans do seem to take a lot of flak from around the world. We got landed with our fair share of idiots, but who hasn't? The only reason we have more stupid people running around than Germany or Britain or some such country is because we have more people running around in general than Germany or Britain. Yes, our ineptitude at geography is legendary, and plenty of us speak only English in a bilingual world environment (and not particularly well either, if some of the other forums I've visited are any testament), and yes, we probably have some people either dim enough to not know what a triangle is or amoral enough to except cash not to know what a triangle is, but this is no reason to write us all off.

In the end, though, we have our revenge. We get berated, spit upon, looked down on, attacked, verbally back stabbed, insulted, and all manner of unpleasantness by rather vocal people who don't seem to have anything else to busy themselves with. BUT, at the end of the day, in the back of their minds, they want us to be us. They get their jollies off harassing us, but in the end America is still the most powerful country in the world, with one of the largest economies, and influence, among other things. Without us, things would be quite different, and in the darkness of their minds, they know it. We're "Warmongers" because we invade our enemies, but if we didn't dirty our hands, someone else would need to, and it would probably be one of them. Or all of them. You don't want us in there? We're not the world police you say? Fine. We'll leave this to you then, and when it explodes all over the nice, clean kitchen floor, you can pick up the pieces. Similarly, illegal immigrant works proudly sport their nations flag and boast in its favor, despite the fact they need to come over to us to earn wages to put food on their table. It's the same thing all over again.

It's like that line form Jack Nicholson's famous speech. "You want me on that wall; you need me on that wall."

[termyt]

America's power and influence is threatening to many. Because of our wealth, influence, and power, Americans are everywhere so it’s not terribly hard to run into one – just look for the dude who doesn’t look like he belongs trying to get directions to some place by speaking English instead of the local language.

That said, America is proud, powerful, and can be a bit bombastic in her rhetoric. That makes people nervous – like America could take over the world if it wanted to, and who would stop it? (Some actually believe we want to) How do you deal with such a scary monster as this? Poke fun at it. Perpetuate the myth that you are superior to them so you don’t wet your jammies and cry yourself to sleep at night.

[Stephen]

Again, America has the power to wipe out life on this planet within an hour

I agreed with a lot of what you said, but this struck me as funny. You do realise that China would tool us right? If we decided to go nuts, we would quite quickly be put in our place. And as far as taking life out, you don't think a small third world nuclear power could do that? A few well placed nukes by any country could screw things up. I think rather then everyone pointing fingers at other countries...America should just try to better the education system. It seems to be, colleges these days are more focused on driving a political view into a young students head...then information.

[Nate]

Steve is absolutely right. We're not the only country with nuclear weapons, you guys know that, right? The countries that are known to have performed nuclear tests are the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Most of those have a nuclear arsenal.

Your optimism amuses me. Do you really think that if we were the ONLY country that had nuclear weapons, we would hesitate to use them? It isn't out of the "goodness of our hearts" that we don't use our nukes, it's because there are extensive laws prohibiting the use of nukes.

[Fish and Chips]

Steve is absolutely right. We're not the only country with nuclear weapons, you guys know that, right? The countries that are known to have performed nuclear tests are the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Most of those have a nuclear arsenal.

"H'okay, so here's the Earth, chillin."

Your optimism amuses me. Do you really think that if we were the ONLY country that had nuclear weapons, we would hesitate to use them? It isn't out of the "goodness of our hearts" that we don't use our nukes, it's because there are extensive laws prohibiting the use of nukes.

Otherwise known fondly as Mutually Assured Destruction.

The problem with nukes is that it's not a matter of stockpiling. A country with just few nuclear capabilities used tactically could easily take down its fellow nations, even countries much larger and stronger than it. Past that point, it's all overkill. Doesn't matter how many more nukes we have than anyone else, if a rouge country controls even one, they're a certified threat.

Hence, why I didn't bring nuclear warfare into this (who did, by the way?).

[Nate]

Hence, why I didn't bring nuclear warfare into this (who did, by the way?).

Look at the post at the top of the page.

[Fish and Chips]

Ah, I noticed just before you pointed it out. Thanks for the tip.

But yes, if we tried to blow up the world, they'd blow us up right back.

[uc pseudonym]

I will suggest (and I do mean that word) that perhaps we allow the discussion to find another subject or drift away? This doesn't strike me as a good place for a referendum on nuclear weapons, nor do I think an extended discussion would be very helpful. There may be more good things to say in this thread, but let's be careful about them, shall we?

[mitsuki lover]

So how'd we get from how stupid Americans can be compared to the rest of the world to firing off nukes in the first place?

[Lady Macbeth]

So how'd we get from how stupid Americans can be compared to the rest of the world to firing off nukes in the first place?

Progression of logic. One thing tends to beget another.

That aside, I just wanted to point out before any of the tangents get too big that I think my last post before this was misunderstood a bit.

[quote="Hakaii"]Sure the education system is far from perfect, but that doesn’t constitute disrespecting Americans in general because of the incompetence of some of our population. And I stand by what I said earlier, “the world is full of stupid people.â€

[Technomancer]

So how'd we get from how stupid Americans can be compared to the rest of the world to firing off nukes in the first place?

We ended up here because the realization that the hapless subjects of the original video are members of the voting public. Granted, those particular people are perhaps more extreme examples of public ignorance, but such ignorance is real and worse, seems to be a pervasive part of the American body politic.

[termyt]

U.S. Department of Education:
Budget: Discretionary: $56.0 billion (2006), Mandatory: $13.4 billion (2006)
Employees: 5,000 (2007)

U.S. Department of Defense:
US Military Budget: $532.8 billion (2007 official)
Employees: 700,000 civilian, 2,300,000 military (2004)

The US Department of Defense employs and/or pays for all of our soldiers in the field.

The US Department of Education does not pay for the teachers in the field.

Perhaps a reason for the discrepancy?

[RedMage]

Yep, there's such a thing as private education, there's no comparable private national defense.

Also, aircraft carriers, fighter planes, missiles, etc. tend to cost a little more than textbooks.

[mitsuki lover]

The real disparity is in the fact that we pay pro atheletes hundreds of millions of dollars that people like Ernie Banks in the old days would have played just for the love of it,while at the same time short changing our teachers pay.

[Kai Robin]

The real disparity is in the fact that we pay pro atheletes hundreds of millions of dollars that people like Ernie Banks in the old days would have played just for the love of it,while at the same time short changing our teachers pay.

Its the irony of mass entertainment unfortunately. If one can massively entertain then one's wallet shall massively gain.

[Nate]

It's not really an irony. It takes millions of dollars to build stadiums, and I mean, even if you only charged a dollar for entry, if you had a million people show up that's still a million dollars. What else are they supposed to do with that money besides pay the people who play the game? Plus, last I checked teachers don't do endorsement deals with breakfast cereals and athletic shoes, and considering that's also a sizable amount of a pro athlete's income, there you go.

Look, I'm all for spending more money on education, but you can't say "It's messed up that football players make millions of dollars and teachers don't" when they're two different kinds of work and have many different factors influencing the income level of both.

[Aruiko]

I find it kinda sad that we are not taught anything about Asian history (nor the history of South Africa or Australia, as far as I can remember), nor precise geography. So I have to admit I can't place Vietnam and used to think that Singapore is north from Hong Kong.. People think that it's only useful to know about places and cultures that are close to your own (that's why they teach us every detail about eg the wars and other things in Europe). I think education should teach us to understand many different kinds of people and cultures, to prevent possible controversy and such

know your own culture, history, geography WELL, before the others.[vähän kuin "tunne ensin historia niin voit ymmärtää nykyisyyttä" <-- en muista tuota sanatarkasti. Vaikka joo, viimeistään lukiossa pitäisi olla kursseja, ainakin valinnaisina. Tässä vaiheessa pitäisi laajentaa ajatteluaan yli eurooppa-keskeisyyden.

I may sound a bit naïve but it's still kinda difficult to express myself in English precisely

I FEEL THE SAME SISTER!!!


Now. Here comes some serious typos...
I think media isn´t that reliable and you should allways wach programs like that with ..uum.. is the word reservation? Ofcource they will put the juicy bits to the program. It seems shoking, but is wery entertaining. And you dont allways even know the context.

Well the clip was in youtube, wasnt it? but in generally europe tends to be critical towards USA and feed the USA negative image. Wich is only natural, because is big country and could be big thread. And american culture is allready a thread to ours. But this means they will show us shows that make americans look like fool, in purpose.

USA is so big so there is room for more fools than in small finland, but if i remember correctly most of the genious people also live there.btw. In small countries giving a good education to everyone is more easyer, i think..?

I have to say im not so thrilled about USA goverment and their decisions... :/

And there were some who mentioned that neither we can tell USAs states. that was a really good point. I can only name few states of USA. And on top of that i wouldnt care less. Sorry. Maybe if i go theere i will care..who knows..Same thing all over the world: people mostly remember mainly contrys/states that are quite near.

My friends who have been exhange students in USA (michigan and utah) didnt give positive feedback about those states and americans. Both never want to go back USA, after spending a year there. On the other hand my cousin who lived in Florida and now in New York said she likes it there.

sorry was this little of topic...?

The best comment my friend told me:
"what ya doing?"
" sending mail to my girlfriend"
" is she in finland?"
" yes "
"does she speak english?"
"yes"
" then why do you write her in finland and not in english?"
" you mean finnish? well we are both finns you know..."

[Radical Dreamer]

My friends who have been exhange students in USA (michigan and utah) didnt give positive feedback about those states and americans. Both never want to go back USA, after spending a year there. On the other hand my cousin who lived in Florida and now in New York said she likes it there.

That's interesting. My school has accepted 8 exchange students in the past two years (3 from Germany, 2 from China, 2 from Korea, 1 from Italy), and all of them (all but one, actually--one of the Chinese students was sent back, due to behavioral issues) have loved the US so far. The Korean 10th grade student we had last year actually decided to continue his education in the US, and is now going to a different school in the state (because of government issues and paperwork; otherwise, he'd still be at my school). So I guess part of the experience has to do with the kind of environment you're put in, along with the people you meet, the family you live with, etc.

[mitsuki lover]

I think in general most foreign exchange students come away with a positive view of America and Americans it's just that few who have had bad expeirences of one kind of another that get noticed because they're the exception and not the rule.
I think the same might be sad for any American teen who spent some time as an exchange student overseas...and please Canada does not so count as a foreign
country as everyone knows it's a district office of the U.S.A.