Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

yizuman · 02-17-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote:

February 14, 2008
Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
By PATRICIA COHEN

A popular video on YouTube shows Kellie Pickler, the adorable platinum blonde from “American Idol,” appearing on the Fox game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” during celebrity week. Selected from a third-grade geography curriculum, the $25,000 question asked: “Budapest is the capital of what European country?”

Ms. Pickler threw up both hands and looked at the large blackboard perplexed. “I thought Europe was a country,” she said. Playing it safe, she chose to copy the answer offered by one of the genuine fifth graders: Hungary. “Hungry?” she said, eyes widening in disbelief. “That’s a country? I’ve heard of Turkey. But Hungry? I’ve never heard of it.”

Such, uh, lack of global awareness is the kind of thing that drives Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason,” up a wall. Ms. Jacoby is one of a number of writers with new books that bemoan the state of American culture.

Joining the circle of curmudgeons this season is Eric G. Wilson, whose “Against Happiness” warns that the “American obsession with happiness” could “well lead to a sudden extinction of the creative impulse, that could result in an extermination as horrible as those foreshadowed by global warming and environmental crisis and nuclear proliferation.”

Then there is Lee Siegel’s “Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob,” which inveighs against the Internet for encouraging solipsism, debased discourse and arrant commercialization. Mr. Siegel, one might remember, was suspended by The New Republic for using a fake online persona in order to trash critics of his blog (“you couldn’t tie Siegel’s shoelaces”) and to praise himself (“brave, brilliant”).

Ms. Jacoby, whose book came out on Tuesday, doesn’t zero in on a particular technology or emotion, but rather on what she feels is a generalized hostility to knowledge. She is well aware that some may tag her a crank. “I expect to get bashed,” said Ms. Jacoby, 62, either as an older person who upbraids the young for plummeting standards and values, or as a secularist whose defense of scientific rationalism is a way to disparage religion.

Ms. Jacoby, however, is quick to point out that her indictment is not limited by age or ideology. Yes, she knows that eggheads, nerds, bookworms, longhairs, pointy heads, highbrows and know-it-alls have been mocked and dismissed throughout American history. And liberal and conservative writers, from Richard Hofstadter to Allan Bloom, have regularly analyzed the phenomenon and offered advice.

T. J. Jackson Lears, a cultural historian who edits the quarterly review Raritan, said, “The tendency to this sort of lamentation is perennial in American history,” adding that in periods “when political problems seem intractable or somehow frozen, there is a turn toward cultural issues.”

But now, Ms. Jacoby said, something different is happening: anti-intellectualism (the attitude that “too much learning can be a dangerous thing”) and anti-rationalism (“the idea that there is no such things as evidence or fact, just opinion”) have fused in a particularly insidious way.

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don’t think it matters.

She pointed to a 2006 National Geographic poll that found nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don’t think it is necessary or important to know where countries in the news are located. So more than three years into the Iraq war, only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map.

Ms. Jacoby, dressed in a bright red turtleneck with lipstick to match, was sitting, appropriately, in that temple of knowledge, the New York Public Library’s majestic Beaux Arts building on Fifth Avenue. The author of seven other books, she was a fellow at the library when she first got the idea for this book back in 2001, on 9/11.

Walking home to her Upper East Side apartment, she said, overwhelmed and confused, she stopped at a bar. As she sipped her bloody mary, she quietly listened to two men, neatly dressed in suits. For a second she thought they were going to compare that day’s horrifying attack to the Japanese bombing in 1941 that blew America into World War II:

“This is just like Pearl Harbor,” one of the men said.

The other asked, “What is Pearl Harbor?”

“That was when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War,” the first man replied.

At that moment, Ms. Jacoby said, “I decided to write this book.”

Ms. Jacoby doesn’t expect to revolutionize the nation’s educational system or cause millions of Americans to switch off “American Idol” and pick up Schopenhauer. But she would like to start a conversation about why the United States seems particularly vulnerable to such a virulent strain of anti-intellectualism. After all, “the empire of infotainment doesn’t stop at the American border,” she said, yet students in many other countries consistently outperform American students in science, math and reading on comparative tests.

In part, she lays the blame on a failing educational system. “Although people are going to school more and more years, there’s no evidence that they know more,” she said.

Ms. Jacoby also blames religious fundamentalism’s antipathy toward science, as she grieves over surveys that show that nearly two-thirds of Americans want creationism to be taught along with evolution.

Ms. Jacoby doesn’t leave liberals out of her analysis, mentioning the New Left’s attacks on universities in the 1960s, the decision to consign African-American and women’s studies to an “academic ghetto” instead of integrating them into the core curriculum, ponderous musings on rock music and pop culture courses on everything from sitcoms to fat that trivialize college-level learning.

Avoiding the liberal or conservative label in this particular argument, she prefers to call herself a “cultural conservationist.”

For all her scholarly interests, though, Ms. Jacoby said she recognized just how hard it is to tune out the 24/7 entertainment culture. A few years ago she participated in the annual campaign to turn off the television for a week. “I was stunned at how difficult it was for me,” she said.

The surprise at her own dependency on electronic and visual media made her realize just how pervasive the culture of distraction is and how susceptible everyone is — even curmudgeons.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/bo...ewanted=1&_r=1

I don't think America is just secluded in the fact that the value of education is frowned up. May countries have that same problem. China is certainly one of them.

For that reason, labor is valued more than the intellect as a means of survival (as well as for the fact that China has a "one child only" policy, males are preferred more than females for labor reasons)

What's scary is that America is losing the knowledge of say, America history, science, math, reading (an alarming number of Americas today can't read and write), spelling and so on. (I'm guilty of bad grammar, but I'm not the only one).

There is a notion that NEA is blamed for the lack of education for our today's America's children and accusation flies that we are being "dumbed down" for the purpose of information control conducted by our Government for the purpose of keeping us in the dark and I guess for "crowd control", the less people know, the better we're controlled. Say for example if Martial Law was declared, we'd be apt to not know how to fight back. So, if that's true, are we being "sheeped"?

What you think of our educational society today?

By the way, it's funny though, I just watched an old episode of "Sliders" whereas the team landed in a alternate world where intellect is prized in the same way as M. Jordon is prized for his basketball status. I often wondered how our would could have been if intellect was prized here?

Doug5 · 02-17-2008, 10:20 PM

americans are interested in making money. knowing the capital of hungary isnt going to make you money.

Also the producers pick the dumbest people to make the show funny. And the people auditioning for the show know this so they pretend to be even dumber than they are. Cuz if they act to smart, they wont be picked for the show.

Maybe the contestents are that ignorant but answering a bunch of trivial questions has nothing to do with intelligence.

Dont judge the american people by some tv quiz show

lumbingmi · 02-18-2008, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug5

Dont judge the american people by some tv quiz show

QFT. It is ridiculous to make statements based on tv quiz shows who may be staged or pre-scripted.

Barbaro · 02-18-2008, 01:16 AM

Quote:

The other asked, “What is Pearl Harbor?”

“That was when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War,” the first man replied.

LOL. Oh, my gosh. I know several ones who had no clue who made the original US flag. Hmm... Martha Stewart!! Jk..

The American education system is so screwed up. Scary.

I recommend this movie. Idiocracy :-P

***VamPyroX*** · 02-18-2008, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug5

americans are interested in making money. knowing the capital of hungary isnt going to make you money.

Also the producers pick the dumbest people to make the show funny. And the people auditioning for the show know this so they pretend to be even dumber than they are. Cuz if they act to smart, they wont be picked for the show.

Maybe the contestents are that ignorant but answering a bunch of trivial questions has nothing to do with intelligence.

Dont judge the american people by some tv quiz show

I agree. Today's societies are getting dumber and dumber.

If we were to make another sequel for Dumb and Dumber, I would make a poster titled Dumb and Dumbererer and use a picture of Earth.

I recommend you watch Idiocracy starring Luke Wilson. That's a good example of society getting dumber.

Anyways, I remember seeing a couple episodes of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. In one episode, this guy was asked... "What orbits around the Earth?" (Moon, Sun, Mars, Venus) He used the "Ask the Audience" lifeline. 56% said the Sun. He agreed with them. Wrong!

Another episode had this guy who was asked, "Homeowners buy surge protectors to protect their possessions from unexpected surge of what?" (Electric current, Water flow, Air pressure, Buyer's remorse) His response was "Water flow".

I sit here wondering why the world has been overrun by idiots.

Silentwolfdog · 02-18-2008, 02:05 AM

I think it's quite unfair if it's related to countries. US already is a large country and rich with history itself.

A lot of other countries don't know US that well either. There's too many information, there's no way I can list all known countries and their capitals. Although, I am surprised she did not know that Hungary is a country as well, but I admit I don't know capital of that country.

I doubt a human's brain is designed to take all information that it is seeing. (That sounds wrong...eh)

But I do agree that we should be "aware" of important information that affect lives in US and other countries that US has relationship with.

I think it's ridiculous for Americans not to know where Iraq is and not ridiculous if Americans do not know where Togo is. (It's a country in West Africa, by the way.)

I think common sense and foundation knowledge (basic knowledge) is needed.

Such as any countries we have war with is countries we need to know a little about since we have killed each other.
We need to know other planets and we need to know how rain/snow works.

But money (being rich) and pass the tests (in school) is more important than overcoming the ignorance, is quite pathetic.

America need to be more opening to different tastes, like stop being afraid of foreign movies (or subtitles), etc.
I learned a lot by watching television and movies from different countries. Heck, even eating food that's not Western bring a new knowledge to you as well.
This is why I like to have penpals from different countries. I get to learn about cities they traveled to and temples they worship to, and custom or holiday they are celebrating.

I dread the day I go to the cashier of one store or restaurant and realize s/he can't read. How in the world am I supposed to communicate if s/he can't read the basic English. *shudder*

(I love Sliders! It's so good at giving you a different perspective of "what if.")

Doug5 · 02-18-2008, 03:09 AM

I think a good example is paris hilton. She has this image of being a dumb ditzy blonde, but I think the joke is on everyone else.

She has acted in a hollywood movie, recorded a record, published a book , and gets paid to show up at night clubs. I realize being an heiress to the Hilton fortune helped her fame and achievments but she was smart enough to utilize it. She has made millions on her own.

Why would she waste her time being an expert at geography or astronomy? Her brilliance is getting paid to go to clubs and drink and have a good time. Its crazy she makes more money partying than the average chump working a 9to5 job.

I agree its scary that so many people are ignorant to basic facts and knowledge. It makes you wonder if they have any idea how the world works. Then these same people get to vote. You dont need the smartest voters to win an election, just the most voters.

Politicians like Bush know this. He kept saying Iraq was involved with 9/11 without showing any proof, and eventually the majority of the population thinks Iraq was involved. The ones in control feed off this ignorance and use it against us. They want the people dumb so they wont question their policies and decisions.

Silentwolfdog · 02-18-2008, 03:33 AM

^ So true...

When everything backfires due to ignorance and US collapses, the last thing America will utter is, "That's hot."

yizuman · 02-18-2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug5

Politicians like Bush know this. He kept saying Iraq was involved with 9/11 without showing any proof, and eventually the majority of the population thinks Iraq was involved. The ones in control feed off this ignorance and use it against us. They want the people dumb so they wont question their policies and decisions.

Another fine example of how well our education system really is.

It's sad really.

Here's another good example, remember how we are taught that it was the French that started this scalping trend with the American Indians?

Well, if you check into the Washington D.C. archives, you will find journals dating back when our ancestors studied the Indians long before the white man vs the Indian wars began, they studied the Indians' practices of scalping has been around long before the French came.

Good examples of how our American history is being rewritten all in the name of political correctness.

Yiz

Byrdie714 · 02-18-2008, 10:48 AM

Quote:

americans are interested in making money. knowing the capital of hungary isnt going to make you money.

True but at least it's nice to know if you are going to Budapest to make extra money.....

Quote:

I sit here wondering why the world has been overrun by idiots.

Because we elect them into office.

Quote:

I think it's ridiculous for Americans not to know where Iraq is and not ridiculous if Americans do not know where Togo is. (It's a country in West Africa, by the way.)

And it was sad to see that Democracy wasn't practice in this country after President Edayema died and his son took power without following the People's Constitution throwing the country into chaos.

Quote:

I dread the day I go to the cashier of one store or restaurant and realize s/he can't read. How in the world am I supposed to communicate if s/he can't read the basic English. *shudder*

She/He better know English as English is the 'Language of Commerce'.

Silentwolfdog · 02-18-2008, 02:39 PM

I have never heard of French that started the scalping trend. I've always thought it was the American Indian's way.

I wonder who brought up the idea that French was the first one, lol since that does not make any sense.

jillio · 02-18-2008, 02:50 PM

We, as a society, have increasingly come to devalue learning. "Why do I need to learn that? What's in it for me? Will that make me rich?" It bespeaks of our society's unwillingness to take any action that they don't see as leading to a direct monetary gain. Knowledge for knowledge's sake is not valued.

It is a direct result of the society we live in. Indiviualistic societies are always focused on the immediate gain to self. We are a nation of quick fixes, and we do not want to waste any time learning that which may not lead to that immedicate gratification.

The concept of becoming more well rounded, a greater ability to think critically, to sythesize inforamtion across disciplines as an indirect benefit is becoming less and less known.

Who do we look up to as role models and mentors? Paris Hilton...she made some money making movies. A sports star....look, he's rich. Do we value scholars and learned people? Nope. That's it in a nutshell.

yizuman · 02-18-2008, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silentwolfdog

I have never heard of French that started the scalping trend. I've always thought it was the American Indian's way.

I wonder who brought up the idea that French was the first one, lol since that does not make any sense.

I've been taught that in school when I was younger. It's the American Indian's idea to have their history rewritten to hide their shameful practices. So instead they made up the story that it was the French that started it and they just copied it to get revenge on the white men raiding their villages, killing men, women and children and burning their villages all the while the French scalped them for souvenirs.

Although I doubt that the killings and burning villages happens on a frequent basis, (as Hollywood would like to portray it) but I do know w/o a doubt from reading history that Gen. Custer would be the type to do that since he is w/o a doubt an asshole. But at the end, he had it coming to him at Little Big Horn in 1876. What goes around, comes around.

On another note, I am hearing stories that some schools are refusing to teach about the Boston Tea Party story due to the fact that some politicians don't like it because it'll be teaching the children how to say "no!" to taxes.

Silentwolfdog · 02-19-2008, 12:51 AM

Seriously?

How pathetic...

Yeah, (Giles' accent) the Earth is doomed...

When I have to learn about Boston Tea Party in elementary or middle school, I can tell you that protest against high taxes isn't on top of my list. I just probably thought it was a cool thing that happened in the past, but that's it. I don't even remember going, "Hey, classmates! Let's protest! No to taxes!"

I despise that types of people, people like soccer mom or control-freak politicians. They think they know better all while in reality they know nothing.

***VamPyroX*** · 02-19-2008, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silentwolfdog

I think it's quite unfair if it's related to countries. US already is a large country and rich with history itself.

A lot of other countries don't know US that well either. There's too many information, there's no way I can list all known countries and their capitals. Although, I am surprised she did not know that Hungary is a country as well, but I admit I don't know capital of that country.

I doubt a human's brain is designed to take all information that it is seeing. (That sounds wrong...eh)

But I do agree that we should be "aware" of important information that affect lives in US and other countries that US has relationship with.

I think it's ridiculous for Americans not to know where Iraq is and not ridiculous if Americans do not know where Togo is. (It's a country in West Africa, by the way.)

I think common sense and foundation knowledge (basic knowledge) is needed.

Such as any countries we have war with is countries we need to know a little about since we have killed each other.
We need to know other planets and we need to know how rain/snow works.

But money (being rich) and pass the tests (in school) is more important than overcoming the ignorance, is quite pathetic.

America need to be more opening to different tastes, like stop being afraid of foreign movies (or subtitles), etc.
I learned a lot by watching television and movies from different countries. Heck, even eating food that's not Western bring a new knowledge to you as well.
This is why I like to have penpals from different countries. I get to learn about cities they traveled to and temples they worship to, and custom or holiday they are celebrating.

I dread the day I go to the cashier of one store or restaurant and realize s/he can't read. How in the world am I supposed to communicate if s/he can't read the basic English. *shudder*

(I love Sliders! It's so good at giving you a different perspective of "what if.")

I love Sliders for that same reason too. That show gives you a unique perspective on "what if" scenarios. What if we lost the Revolutionary War? What if Edgar Hoover took over the government? What if...

I also agree that people should be open-minded and explore new things regardless of how small or insignificant it is.

For instance, I like to watch some old movies... cuz they're enjoyable and I like to analyze them sometimes. They give me an idea of how things works in the past compared to how things work today. For instance, the 007 movies... the old movies had unreal gadgets while the recent movies have realistic gadgets. Some old movies have psychological meanings in them and one has to understand them in order to understand the movies.

I happen to like the spoof movies... Scary Movie, Date Movie, and Epic Movie. Even though they look and sound like stupid movies, they actually require some knowledge of other movies and current events in order to enjoy them. If a person doesn't watch movies much or doesn't pay much attention to current events, then they're likely to not understand and enjoy the movie.

Not every movie is intended to be used as entertainment, but to broaden our knowledge and understanding in certain things.

Silentwolfdog · 02-20-2008, 03:33 PM

I have never thought about this way when watching old movies. I rarely watch old movies.

But I recall one old movie called "Safe Fail" (I think) where it is based on era of Cold War. It's interesting to see president's response to if we accidentally hit Russia. What will we do to make up for it, to avoid the war. I am pretty sure that our views are different today than in the past. I doubt we will do what the movie had done, and the movie tried to make America look more noble than it really is. We know what's America like after we got attacked on 9/11. When we suddenly realize that not everyone like US.

What old movies do you recommend me to try?

I liked spoof movies as well. It's always fun to guess which incident/movie that the scene was based on.

Reba · 02-20-2008, 03:38 PM

"Fail-Safe"

Fail-Safe (1964)

Silentwolfdog · 02-20-2008, 05:03 PM

^ Thanks Reba!

I am one of those who understand a lot of thing, but could never get to say it right, lol.

Chase · 02-20-2008, 05:39 PM

No, "Americans" are no more hostile to knowledge than the people of any other continent. For the ignorant: Canadian, Mexican, Chillian, and Brazilian citizens are as American as United States citizens.

According to the Socrates, the Athenian teacher and philosopher of 2400 years ago, it's "our current youth" who resist knowledge.

I guess some things never change.

Byrdie714 · 02-20-2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chase

No, "Americans" are no more hostile to knowledge than the people of any other continent. For the ignorant: Canadian, Mexican, Chillian, and Brazilian citizens are as American as United States citizens.

According to the Socrates, the Athenian teacher and philosopher of 2400 years ago, it's "our current youth" who resist knowledge.

I guess some things never change.

But in 'Conversation with Crito' he made a point that it was the government's responsibility in educating the youth.

Therefore if the youth are resistant to knowledge, it's the fault of the government for not breaking down the resistance since the government is the people?

Chase · 02-21-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Byrdie714

But in 'Conversation with Crito' he made a point that it was the government's responsibility in educating the youth.

Therefore if the youth are resistant to knowledge, it's the fault of the government for not breaking down the resistance since the government is the people?

I don’t know that we can make a hard-and-fast syllogism from your interpretation of another scholar’s translation of Plato’s remembered “conversations” of his teacher, Socrates.

Going to the original Greek, many believe that “government” or “state” are modern constructs for what Socrates called “a gathering of the educated citizenry.” Remember, at this time, a person couldn’t even vote or hold office until he was at least 30 years old. Youth didn’t have the power it has today.

Maybe a safer translation of the Socratic position on education is that the educated elder citizens had a responsibility to provide a rounded education (which at the time included poetic, musical, athletic, and fighting skills). His complaint was that many youth wanted it “now” without putting in the necessary time and effort.

Sound familiar?

As was Socrates’s way, putting forth the idea itself would most likely serve to overcome resistance of those who might think themselves otherwise entitled.

Byrdie714 · 02-21-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chase

I don’t know that we can make a hard-and-fast syllogism from your interpretation of another scholar’s translation of Plato’s remembered “conversations” of his teacher, Socrates.

Going to the original Greek, many believe that “government” or “state” are modern constructs for what Socrates called “a gathering of the educated citizenry.” Remember, at this time, a person couldn’t even vote or hold office until he was at least 30 years old. Youth didn’t have the power it has today.

Maybe a safer translation of the Socratic position on education is that the educated elder citizens had a responsibility to provide a rounded education (which at the time included poetic, musical, athletic, and fighting skills). His complaint was that many youth wanted it “now” without putting in the necessary time and effort.

Sound familiar?

As was Socrates’s way, putting forth the idea itself would most likely serve to overcome resistance of those who might think themselves otherwise entitled.

Could be.

Of course it was Socrate's idea of going against the state since he did not agree with the laws that got him executed. Of course he could have worked with the government but didn't.

There is always a reaction for every action.

Chase · 02-21-2008, 11:21 AM

Most scholars of western democracies agree that Socrates's point in willingly accepting hemlock was that an individual’s duty to his own principles far outweighed duty to a totalitarian state.

Of course those favoring dictatorships tend to disagree.

02-18-2008, 02:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	I think it's quite unfair if it's related to countries. US already is a large country and rich with history itself. A lot of other countries don't know US that well either. There's too many information, there's no way I can list all known countries and their capitals. Although, I am surprised she did not know that Hungary is a country as well, but I admit I don't know capital of that country. I doubt a human's brain is designed to take all information that it is seeing. (That sounds wrong...eh) But I do agree that we should be "aware" of important information that affect lives in US and other countries that US has relationship with. I think it's ridiculous for Americans not to know where Iraq is and not ridiculous if Americans do not know where Togo is. (It's a country in West Africa, by the way.) I think common sense and foundation knowledge (basic knowledge) is needed. Such as any countries we have war with is countries we need to know a little about since we have killed each other. We need to know other planets and we need to know how rain/snow works. But money (being rich) and pass the tests (in school) is more important than overcoming the ignorance, is quite pathetic. America need to be more opening to different tastes, like stop being afraid of foreign movies (or subtitles), etc. I learned a lot by watching television and movies from different countries. Heck, even eating food that's not Western bring a new knowledge to you as well. This is why I like to have penpals from different countries. I get to learn about cities they traveled to and temples they worship to, and custom or holiday they are celebrating. I dread the day I go to the cashier of one store or restaurant and realize s/he can't read. How in the world am I supposed to communicate if s/he can't read the basic English. shudder (I love Sliders! It's so good at giving you a different perspective of "what if.") __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

02-18-2008, 03:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	^ So true... When everything backfires due to ignorance and US collapses, the last thing America will utter is, "That's hot." __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

02-18-2008, 02:39 PM	#11 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	I have never heard of French that started the scalping trend. I've always thought it was the American Indian's way. I wonder who brought up the idea that French was the first one, lol since that does not make any sense. __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

02-19-2008, 12:51 AM	#14 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	Seriously? How pathetic... Yeah, (Giles' accent) the Earth is doomed... When I have to learn about Boston Tea Party in elementary or middle school, I can tell you that protest against high taxes isn't on top of my list. I just probably thought it was a cool thing that happened in the past, but that's it. I don't even remember going, "Hey, classmates! Let's protest! No to taxes!" I despise that types of people, people like soccer mom or control-freak politicians. They think they know better all while in reality they know nothing. __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

02-20-2008, 03:33 PM	#16 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	I have never thought about this way when watching old movies. I rarely watch old movies. But I recall one old movie called "Safe Fail" (I think) where it is based on era of Cold War. It's interesting to see president's response to if we accidentally hit Russia. What will we do to make up for it, to avoid the war. I am pretty sure that our views are different today than in the past. I doubt we will do what the movie had done, and the movie tried to make America look more noble than it really is. We know what's America like after we got attacked on 9/11. When we suddenly realize that not everyone like US. What old movies do you recommend me to try? I liked spoof movies as well. It's always fun to guess which incident/movie that the scene was based on. __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

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02-17-2008, 10:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Doug5 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 227	americans are interested in making money. knowing the capital of hungary isnt going to make you money. Also the producers pick the dumbest people to make the show funny. And the people auditioning for the show know this so they pretend to be even dumber than they are. Cuz if they act to smart, they wont be picked for the show. Maybe the contestents are that ignorant but answering a bunch of trivial questions has nothing to do with intelligence. Dont judge the american people by some tv quiz show

02-18-2008, 03:09 AM	#7 (permalink)
Doug5 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 227	I think a good example is paris hilton. She has this image of being a dumb ditzy blonde, but I think the joke is on everyone else. She has acted in a hollywood movie, recorded a record, published a book , and gets paid to show up at night clubs. I realize being an heiress to the Hilton fortune helped her fame and achievments but she was smart enough to utilize it. She has made millions on her own. Why would she waste her time being an expert at geography or astronomy? Her brilliance is getting paid to go to clubs and drink and have a good time. Its crazy she makes more money partying than the average chump working a 9to5 job. I agree its scary that so many people are ignorant to basic facts and knowledge. It makes you wonder if they have any idea how the world works. Then these same people get to vote. You dont need the smartest voters to win an election, just the most voters. Politicians like Bush know this. He kept saying Iraq was involved with 9/11 without showing any proof, and eventually the majority of the population thinks Iraq was involved. The ones in control feed off this ignorance and use it against us. They want the people dumb so they wont question their policies and decisions.

02-18-2008, 02:50 PM	#12 (permalink)
jillio Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,197	We, as a society, have increasingly come to devalue learning. "Why do I need to learn that? What's in it for me? Will that make me rich?" It bespeaks of our society's unwillingness to take any action that they don't see as leading to a direct monetary gain. Knowledge for knowledge's sake is not valued. It is a direct result of the society we live in. Indiviualistic societies are always focused on the immediate gain to self. We are a nation of quick fixes, and we do not want to waste any time learning that which may not lead to that immedicate gratification. The concept of becoming more well rounded, a greater ability to think critically, to sythesize inforamtion across disciplines as an indirect benefit is becoming less and less known. Who do we look up to as role models and mentors? Paris Hilton...she made some money making movies. A sports star....look, he's rich. Do we value scholars and learned people? Nope. That's it in a nutshell.

02-20-2008, 03:38 PM	#17 (permalink)
Reba Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 17,287	"Fail-Safe" Fail-Safe (1964)

02-20-2008, 05:03 PM	#18 (permalink)
Silentwolfdog a toku fangirl Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 705	^ Thanks Reba! I am one of those who understand a lot of thing, but could never get to say it right, lol. __________________ If you are using red or blue font, there's a good chance that I am not reading your posts due to it being blended into background! I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ~Sarah William Check my art at http://silentwolfdog.deviantart.com

02-20-2008, 05:39 PM	#19 (permalink)
Chase Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,316	No, "Americans" are no more hostile to knowledge than the people of any other continent. For the ignorant: Canadian, Mexican, Chillian, and Brazilian citizens are as American as United States citizens. According to the Socrates, the Athenian teacher and philosopher of 2400 years ago, it's "our current youth" who resist knowledge. I guess some things never change.

02-21-2008, 11:21 AM	#23 (permalink)
Chase Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,316	Most scholars of western democracies agree that Socrates's point in willingly accepting hemlock was that an individual’s duty to his own principles far outweighed duty to a totalitarian state. Of course those favoring dictatorships tend to disagree.