Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
Well, most countries don't have 130,000 troops in Cambodia.
quote:
Originally posted by PETRAN
Yeah, a very horizontal comparison, its like both Americans and the uncontacted tribes of the Amazon have the same educational background...
Actually, it's far more complicated than that, I'd say.
Ideally, everyone (or, at least, most voters) in a democratic country would have a sound knowledge about politics, economy, public administration, foreign affairs, history and geography. But, a modern state is nothing like a Greek polis, in which all voters could debate directly and had, therefore, to be wise in order to make themselves heard. Regardless of nationalism and whatnot, you probably don't even know 10% of the people in the city you live in, so you don't really have that much in common with those around you. Now, I'm talking just about those that live in the same city you live. If we broaden our scope and think about the country as a whole, the situation doesn't really get any better.
The average citizen can lead a pretty satisfying life as long as they're able to feed their children, not die a violent death, and have a hobby. If they feel threatened by an Iraq - whatever that is - they just want the government to fix that. If this so-called Iraq is a criminal, Iraq is not one of them, so they don't even need to show any compassion... or knowledge, for that matter, as long as they don't feel threatened any more.
You can't even push this kind of interest in their heads, because it's not part of their world. So, instead of laughing or criticising, I'd say we should focus on a more pragmatic aproach to politics.
And, being just a smart-ass linguist, I'd rather leave that to political scientists such as you, Lebez... I don't really feel like pulling a Chomsky :D
Clovis
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Originally posted by DJLafleur
are you stupid? If Obama is elected the country can kiss its freedom goodbye
That is completely untrue and there is no way you could ever back that up with information found in reality.
I do, however, have a long list of what McCain will do that will continue this country's slow demise along the policies and trends set in motion by the Bush administration. His picks vis a vis justices alone will leave a completely conservative supreme court for likely the next 25 years...
nchs09
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
If your point is that they shouldn't feel dumb, let me just make clear that I think Americans shouldn't be made fun of either. People tend to know (and/or remember) what they need, and I don't think most people need to know where Cambodia, for example, is on the map in their daily life.
People should know this..... They teach it in school man.
The17sss
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by nchs09
People should know this..... They teach it in school man.
I should know how human cells work, how they produce energy and how information is exchanged among them. I learnt all this 10 years ago, and I can't remember any of this any more. Does that make me feel dumb? No, not at all, I didn't feel any need to know this then, and I certainly don't miss this kind of knowledge now.
This is not because they're Americans, but because they're humans. We forget irrelevant information.
Lebezniatnikov
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
I should know how human cells work, how they produce energy and how information is exchanged among them. I learnt all this 10 years ago, and I can't remember any of this any more. Does that make me feel dumb? No, not at all, I didn't feel any need to know this then, and I certainly don't miss this kind of knowledge now.
This is not because they're Americans, but because they're humans. We forget irrelevant information.
Right, but you're leaving out a critical component of the equation. Iraq is a country that the United States has been at war with for over five years now. A country that 130,000 of our citizens are currently stuck in. A country that has dominated the media and popular culture of American society for five years. It's impossible to say that even a sliver of the American population is unaware that there is a conflict going on in Iraq... comparing it to not knowing another citizen of your hometown just isn't a sound analogy in my opinion.
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
Right, but you're leaving out a critical component of the equation. Iraq is a country that the United States has been at war with for over five years now. A country that 130,000 of our citizens are currently stuck in. A country that has dominated the media and popular culture of American society for five years. It's impossible to say that even a sliver of the American population is unaware that there is a conflict going on in Iraq... comparing it to not knowing another citizen of your hometown just isn't a sound analogy in my opinion.
I think I expressed myself poorly, because I didn't intend to use that as an analogy, but that was supposed to be rather an explanation of how you can lead a happy life without getting involved in political issues... after all, what binds all voters together? Almost nothing, really.
Also, I didn't mean to leave that bit out. Quite the opposite, what I want to emphasise is that the media has mentioned Iraq so many times that it's "a threat" rather than "a territory" to the average Joe. The knowledge of where Iraq is on the map is irrelevant unless (i) you're politically active and you don't want to be fooled by contradictory info, (ii) you're going there, or (iii) have business there. Think about it: all you hear is that Iraq could attack, the US (counter-)attacked Iraq before bad things could happen... as long as the threat is gone, that's what matters to most people. Hell, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that there are individuals that can't even find their own country on the map!
By the way, I'm pointing that out not because I think we should ignore politics. Rather, this is something that seems to happen pretty much everywhere, and becomes a critical problem, as far as I see it, in a democratic country where the clueless can have a dramatic influence on political decisions.
JustinMead
quote:
Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
Right, but you're leaving out a critical component of the equation. Iraq is a country that the United States has been at war with for over five years now.
Wait, what? We are at war with Iraq? Last I checked we where working with the Iraq Government, and the Iraqi Military.
:rolleyes:
Krypton
quote:
Wait, what? We are at war with Iraq? Last I checked we where working with the Iraq Government, and the Iraqi Military.
They want us to have a withdrawal timetable. Guess what Bush/Cheney/McCain DON'T want...:rolleyes:
AustralianGQ
quote:
Originally posted by Trance Nutter
I know how much some of the Americans here hate The Chasers when they do stuff like this, but just relax and laugh along
LOL....unreal. i cant believe americans are that dumb.
idoru
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Originally posted by AustralianGQ
LOL....unreal. i cant believe americans are that dumb.
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Originally posted by Lira
I ain't surprised to know that some Americans can't do that.
Many people in countless other countries can't do that either.
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
If your point is that they shouldn't feel dumb, let me just make clear that I think Americans shouldn't be made fun of either. People tend to know (and/or remember) what they need, and I don't think most people need to know where Cambodia, for example, is on the map in their daily life.
Clovis
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Originally posted by AustralianGQ
LOL....unreal. i cant believe americans are that dumb.
You are quite possibly the dumbest person on earth with a working internet connection so you should really shut the up instead of blanket labeling an entire populace of 250 million +. There are people in this country who are infinitely more intelligent, logical and educated than you will ever be in your entire lifetime. 5 rednecks from middle America on youtube hardly represent us all.
