Reply #84: I agree with a great deal of what you say here

[Time for change]

There are a lot of secrets, and then there are a lot of semi-secrets -- those things that are available to the public but that do not get publicized, are rarely on the news and are not taught to our children in history classes. I have written about these things not too long ago:

Wake up America! :Why Americans Need to Acknowledge the Gap between America’s Ideals and its Actions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x865591

The Century and a Half War against Socialism in the United States
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x834963

The Roots and Consequences of U.S. Overseas Imperialism
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x708887

I think that many Americans deserve a lot of the blame for this because, as you say, they are not enquiring enough and are in large part determined to believe what they want to believe. But I don't believe that Americans are not intrinsically much different than other peoples in that respect -- witness Germany in the 1930s. Rather, I believe that a lot of the blame also goes to the system that has taken over in this country, including the woefully inadequate information that is provided in our schools and on the news, etc.