Why are Americans so dumb and ignorant?

[Taverner]

Not all of us - mind you

But it seems like the average American hates smart people, prefers might to thought, can't even find their own fucking country on a map, and chooses leaders based on if they want to have a beer with them.

American workers vote against their own interests because they're so fucking homophobic.

American families vote against their own interests because they're so xenophobic.

And most Americans would read that last line and say "I'm not afraid of Buddhists!"

Actually, most Americans have no idea what the fuck Buddhism is - except that it's "sinful in the eyes of Gawd."

Yes, Europe is surpassing us in art, music, politics, science, education, automobiles, beer, wine, energy and everything but fucking sports. And that's only because we play dumb ass sports here.

USA is number one??? At being dumbasses we are...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Because Hugh is casting asparagus in the Iraq.

:thumbsup:

[Bjornsdotter]

2. Lead in the drinking water n/t

[XemaSab]

15. Too much Harry Potter

:o

[kay1864]

16. Praise God we have Laura Mallory to protect us from the evils of HP

Damn liberal activist judges...

[Bjornsdotter]

19. I rest my case

...:rofl:

That woman is a nutcase.

[NewJeffCT]

22. I missed that one

what happened?

[kay1864]

25. Laura Mallory

In September 2005, Laura Mallory, a mother of four children in Loganville, Georgia, attempted to have the Harry Potter books banned from her children's school library on the grounds that they promoted a religion, Wicca, and thus for a public school library to hold them would violate the separation of church and state. On her website, she states, "Harry Potter is being used to teach and promote witchcraft, Wicca, a U.S. Gov't recognized religion, in our schools, classrooms, and to this entire generation." Mallory said the books carry "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this." Mallory, who is a Christian missionary, said that she believed the books encouraged children to practice religious witchcraft or become Wiccans.

Mallory also commented that she has not read the book series partially because "they're really very long and I have four kids. I've put a lot of work into what I've studied and read. I think it would be hypocritical for me to read all the books, honestly."

Following her case's rejection by the school, Mallory then took her case to the school appeals committee, but was rejected again. On April 20, 2006, Mallory took her case to the Gwinnett County School Board, but on May 11, the board voted unanimously against her. In June 2006, Mallory launched an appeal against the County Board's decision with the Georgia State Board of Education; that appeal was rejected the following December.<56> In January 2007, she appealed to the Gwinnett Superior Court; that appeal too was rejected three months later. She is considering taking the case to federal court, but has spent the summer with her husband and four children. She now intends to become a minister for children and young adults, claiming that her case against Harry Potter has inspired her to a new calling. Mallory was named the Washington Post's 2006 "Idiot of the Year." <---Finally her campaign achieved something!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mallory#Laura_Mallory

[Bjornsdotter]

17. Blasphemy

....


:rofl:...we know that can't be it; we're the smart ones!

[XemaSab]

18. As the motto of mugglecast puts it:

Reassuringly nerdy. :D

http://www.mugglenet.com/mugglecast/

[Aristus]

3. I used to think America was strong because we got all the people from

around the world who were tough enough, smart enough, and brave enough to start a new life in a completely new country.

Now I wonder if we are so weak and in decline because we got all the people from around the world who were too stupid and spineless to effect positive change in their mother countries and instead ran away to here.

[Taverner]

5. I dunno - I actually think we're weak and in decline because we're in denial

That we're weak and in decline...

The immigrants are the only thing keeping this spoiled rotten nation afloat

[Lydia Leftcoast]

42. That's right--I loved having first-generation immigrants in class

They were eager to learn and had good study habits.

When I was a college professor in a mid-level liberal arts college, we used to complain about how our students were afraid to try new challenges and faced each new level in our respective subjects with, "But that's too hard."

[Tyler Durden]

4. You stated it PERFECTLY.

No further discussion is needed. Ignorance and stupidity are the seeds of blind arrogance: something else this country has in abundance.

If pride truly goes before a fall, this belly flop will be heard on Mars, vacuum notwithstanding.

[billyskank]

6. I'm sure it isn't as bad as you believe it is.

Remember the old aphorism that the grass always seems greener on the other side.

As for why Americans are so "dumb and ignorant," I expect this is probably an effect of America's world dominance. I think it's decadence. It may be that Americans think they can afford the luxury of ignorance, which perhaps why they indulge themselves by choosing leaders on whether they think he would be nice to have a beer with. I hope that the experience of the current president has disabused people of that notion and instilled a sense of renewed seriousness when it comes to electing the next president, but I dare not hold out too much hope...

I think America is at the stage of its power that the British empire was leading up to WWII. Nothing lasts forever, and I believe America's power must wane. Modern empires do not seem to last more than a century, and I would argue with anybody who thinks that America's empire began with Bush as president: I think America's world domination began during WWII. I hope for America's sake that it can manage its decline such as Britain did its own, so that it can remain a great nation if no longer the dominant Power.

[Tyler Durden]

10. Oh I don't see any greener grass.

With the possible exception of Canada.

I am afraid that "Globalism" has done nothing more than chain us all together in the same sinking rowboat. Some of us are paddling madly toward some distant shore, some are bailing, some are wailing, and some are trying to cut themselves loose from the chain.

I don't know if ANYONE will "make" it, to be perfectly frank. I'm just hanging on day to day m'self.

[billyskank]

11. You may be right.

Which makes me laugh when people say the next century will be the rise of China and India. If the western nations collapse, who will they sell their crap to? Who will outsource their jobs there? And if the price of oil goes sky high, how will they do it so cheaply?

[Tyler Durden]

12. Spot on.

Globalism means we all SWIM or we all SINK.

And some of us are breeding SHARKS just for laughs then jumping in for a swim. Go figure.

[redqueen]

29. Some Greener Grass from your side of the pond... enjoy!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137571101?bctid=1137569097

:D

[billyskank]

32. That was classy.

:rofl:

[redqueen]

33. Aren't you glad all the idiots are over here?

:eyes:

:hi:

[billyskank]

34. They most certainly are not.

Q.E.D. :D

:hi:

[redqueen]

35. Heh... obviously!

My favorite part was the little girls in the sluts-in-training outfits.

:wow:

And the dress... and the tan... and the bridesmaids' dresses... :rofl:

[BarenakedLady]

36. LoL!

That bride looked so happy, didn't she?

:rofl:

[redqueen]

37. hahahah

how could she not?!

[Taverner]

38. ..."America's world domination began during WWII"

Too fucking true brotha!

After WWII, we had the functioning plants, the functioning industry - the rest of the world was forced to buy our shit. Soon we stepped into France and Britain's old posts..

[EFerrari]

7. Are you sure it's most Americans?

Imho, most Americans don't want to interact with the 30%ers that live and act as you describe in your OP.

I'd say it's those 30%ers + our co-opted media that makes it seem like "most". :shrug:

[Parche]

8. Fuk Boodists

Thats all I have to say.........:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[Rambis]

9. Religious, Jingoistic, incurious morons

I can't honestly tell you why it is. Based on our history we should be a welcoming open minded people but we are not. We are a bunch of mutts who think we are all better than everyone else? WTF?

[ruiner4u]

13. Welpers.... Just glancing over 200+ years of history it seems to me.......

That every time we were on a verge of social and intellectual upward mobility there was a war <justified or not> that took away money and brainpower...

the civil war ruined the south for generations
ww1 took money and alot of lives
ww2 did turn us into a world player, but the following cold war diverted alot of money and manpower away from public good..
vietnam, again money and lives..
And now Iraq after the prosperous clinton years..

While Europe has invested in itself for the last 50 years, we invest in creating conflicts around the world...

And remember flame war starters, I said War <justified or not>..

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Popular culture encourages ignorance

and we're addicted to popular culture, thanks largely to a mass media that encourage such addiction.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding

Our popular culture specifically ENCOURAGES being mean and dumb. This has always been true to some extent, but it's gotten so bad during the past ten years or so that I can hardly bear to watch anything on TV. WWF wrestling? Celebrity poker? Exhibitionists on Survivor facing fake challenges? True crime 24/7? Bleeccch.

Imagine if our pop culture had encouraged people to be smart and kind.

[AngryAmish]

20. America is shit

[NewJeffCT]

21. The anti-intellectualism bothers me a lot

Scholars, scientists, university professors and the like should be celebrated far more than they are here. Instead, they're portrayed as elitists in ivory towers who are out of touch with real people.

But, they are the ones that developed things like the atom bomb and the artificial heart and also put a man on the moon.

[kay1864]

23. Several answers come to mind...

1. We watch a crapload of TV. Other nations don't average SEVEN FREAKING HOURS A DAY. TV (most of it, anyway) doesn't require thought the way reading does. You can sit or lie there mindless and let it play to you. You don't have to learn anything or exercise your brain at all.

2. We don't teach critical thinking in secondary school. We don't teach the need for EVIDENCE for something to be true. If your neighbor's best friend's sister's co-worker saw lights in the sky last year, well then, heck UFO's must be real, since your neighbor wouldn't lie to you, now would she?

3. The prevalence of fundie religion ties directly into #2. Fundie Christianity teaches you to accept without question, and to believe without evidence.

4. Fact it, a lot of people (esp. men) choose the Repuke party because it's more "macho". And being a Repuke means to accept crap without question (see #2 and #3). And good Christians *have* to be Repukes, since they don't want to associate with them heathen gay marriage-lovin' Democrats. Being a Repuke reinforces superficial, one-layer thinking.

5. A lot of sports (football, especially) emphasize brawn over brains. So if your role models growing up are dumb jocks, then well, you have less incentive to emphasize your brain. (note that I'm not calling all jocks dumb. But many certainly are)

[RedStateShame]

24. Are the general masses of any group ever the best and brightest, so to speak?

[kay1864]

26. That's not the comparison

It's not the general masses compared to the best and brightest.

It's your average American to your average European (or Asian, for that matter).

Your average European knows what's going on in his/her own country, AND Asia, AND Africa, AND South America, AND the US.

Your average American knows who's winning on American Idol this week.

[Dukkha]

27. Why America is so bad?

the movie Idiocracy explored that. The reasons being is that only the lowest intelligent people breed excessively therefore creating more unintelligent people. Since society tends to make more money from appealing to the lowest common denominator all the focus is on that demographic resulting in the total dumbing down of the mass media.

[kath]

28. Hey, you're supposed to call us "U.S. Americans".

Like Miss Teen South Carolina did.

[Dr. Strange]

30. Well,

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are dumb and ignorant because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our education like, such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere, like such as, and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S., should help the U.S., or should help South Africa, and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for.

We're not dumb and ignorant--we're just blond and such.

[Shine]

31. Why do you hate America?

:P

[Brigid]

39. I am giving this thread the K & R treatment.

Yes, too many Americans have become stupid, lazy, and fat. It doesn't have to be that way, but unfortunately those who are seem to be dragging the rest of us down with them. This country has always had something of an anti-intellectual streak, but it's gotten worst than ever under the Bush regime. :(

I once wrote a paper about Shakespeare for an English class at a local two-year college, and most of the class acted as though they never heard of the guy. In my day, you didn't get outta high school without taking a look at the Bard. :shrug:

[Crazy Dave]

40. Maybe Miss Teen USA South Carolina can explain it best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

[Brigid]

41. I saw this on KO last night.

All I can say is, :wtf:

[Crazy Dave]

45. You won't see her on....

"Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?"

I dunno...she might have been nervous, scared and coached to death on what to say about certain things. I keep thinking of the Seinfeld show where Kramer coached Miss Rhode Island :rofl:

[Brigid]

44. Try this experiment:

Randomly stop an American in the street and ask if he or she has ever read anything by Ernest Hemingway. Watch his or her eyes glaze over. Enough said.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

46. That's probably for the best though. He's very overrated.

And the fact is, American literature in general is overrated. American literature doesn't even begin to compare to Russian, French, German, British, Greek, or Roman literature.

[Brigid]

48. But most Americans haven't heard of any of them, either.

I doubt we ever have been much of a nation of readers. :(

[Left Is Write]

47. If they are as dumb as you say....

they would NOT say, "I'm not afraid of Buddhists" when confronted with the word "xenophobic." They probably don't know what Zen means.

[Generator]

49. Because they can be

Which is really the answer to anything if you think about it.

As in-Bush will attack Iran IF he can. It's that simple.

A squirrel doesn't change it's stripes, you know.

Which means-we are fat and lazy and need to suffer a LOT more to get smarter. They had a few centuries of wars then they got smarter in Europe. Starvation and mass death does that to a people.

Prosperity is a a squirrel with too many nuts-and you know those stripes don't change, baby!

P.S. Whatever you do-don't blame American Idol-I'm tired of that CANARD.

I personally blame all professional sports which I can't stand. (Why? Because I CAN) I've never heard of these people-Vick for instance and then it's non-stop. So enough with the sports-it's the reason Americans are so dumb. (WHAT? There are "football" fanatics in Europe-oh yes-those Beckham people-I don't want to know anymore!)