Why are the American people generally very ignorant about the world?

Is it because geography and social science is not taught enough in American schools and that the Media has taken advantage of their lack of understanding? I was astonished to find some schoolmates from America, not even being able to locate Washington D.C. on the American map!

Why are the American people generally very ignorant about the world?
Because world news / issues aren't on our "infotainment" (news) channels. They're censored up the a_ _.





Local news channels might show 1 minute of the war in Iraq on average per broadcast. 1 minute ! For a sham of a war that is without cause....again, it's all censored. Every station runs the exact same stories, which are incidentally owned by a few huge conglomerates.





Not to mention the blatant stereotypes the general US public has against the rest of the world, backed up by our pop culture.





Plain and simple, the government likes to keep us stupid and not asking questions. I mean what other developed nation in the world has to import 65,000+ college/university grads to fill local jobs? NONE.





TV, along with radio is the opiate of the masses and it's not independently owned, it's one sided and it's brainwashing us into hating every other country.
Reply:Simple... as they outsource it to India. LOL
Reply:American are very nombrilists.


You cannot imagine how you miss taste and culture.


Much American always thinks that there are the USA and nothing other...





A few years ago, in vacancy in the United States, a teacher of geography thought and explained me that Africa was a country. She did not want to believe me when I explained to her that Africa was a continent... each time she answered me really! really! I even wondered whether she were a really teacher because she could not locate France in Europe.
Reply:they are more interested in paris and american idol, than what is important in this world. it will be our down fall.
Reply:Yes, it's even worse since Bush's No Child Left Behind program. Children have to get certain scores on standardized reading and math tests, so test taking skills and the necessary facts are taught at the expense of a broader education.
Reply:I couldn't point out Boise, Idaho on a map but that doesn't make me stupid.
Reply:This question is ridiculous because it assumes that Americans ARE genrally ignorant about the world. Wheres your proof?





Can you post a link to a poll that supports this conclusion? An interview? A survey?





My guess is you cant.





Vince
Reply:Yes, you are right. Not only does the Media take advantage of the ignorant, so do liberal teachers who insist on indoctrinating students to support their own distorted views.
Reply:failure of the public education system,,,hell I should no or is that know?anyway map reading is not a usefull skill anyway.free condoms for 13 tear olds ,now thats some educatinal stuff.
Reply:Unless you are fighting for vouchers, I hardly see how this is a political question.





And if you are fighting for vouchers, I agree 100%.
Reply:don't agree, doesn't everyone has their own area of expertise, as long as I know how to get home I'm fine, if you wanna be expert in geography that's your choice in life.
Reply:Ever since political correctness and cultural fairness was introduced in the classrooms, thanks to Liberals and the ACLU, I believe much of this really took hold around the early to mid nineties.





I was taught geography, social sciences and civics. World History and the like and can pretty much read a map and find cities all over the world.


Kids today can be asked, who is our current secretary of state, and most don't even know that.





This is exactly the reason I'm all for vouchers, and also exactly the reason my wife and I are seriously talking about keeping our kids in private schools.


The U.S. public education system is nothing short of a joke thanks to the liberal mindset of things like black history month, or asian week, or hispanic week and ebonics.





PUUHHHHLLLLEEEEEEESEE!
Reply:i suppose it's because we are the greatest nation on the planet, and the rest of the world is just that,...the rest of the world...don't take it so hard..it's us, not you..we can still be freinds.


but this thing about the map...now was the map marked with the names or was it just blank and you had to guess which specific area was washington d.c.? because washington d.c. isn't a very large area and that whole northeast area is pretty dense with many large cities. so one might be hard pressed to locate it without it's name on it. i can spot washington d.c. from a sattilite photo as the entire city has the free-masonry compass and square built into it's make up...pretty cool actually.
Reply:As Canadians we'd better not get too smug, as alot of Canadians according to the Dominion institute can't answer many of the questions we ask of our immigrants to answer to pass our citizens test.





However, I think it's because Americans, for the most part aren't interested in any other country than their own. Their's is the best , they are the best people, why be interested in anyone else who isn't as great as they are.





Alot of them don't even know their own country, if Jay Leno's Jaywalking is any indicator.





However, as Pierre Trudeau once characterized Canada it's like a mouse sleeping beside an elephant. The mouse better know the elephant's every move and characteristic or risk getting crushed or killed in the interim.
Reply:I disagree with you. I will match my knowledge against yours, any day.
Reply:amazing isn't it!!?? SAD
Reply:Jay Leno has popularized a sort of "dumber-than-thou" culture in which some people think its cute and funny to be stupid.





People who know the location of Washington, D.C. and other geographical trivia questions are generally not the types to go on TV and allow themselves to be the butt of the joke.





Plenty of us are educated. Those who aren't educated have consciously chosen a state of ignorance, which is sad.
Reply:The media gives more coverage to Paris Hilton then it does to actual news.
Reply:Were too busy trying to teach the illegals how to speak english.
Reply:It is because many of us watch Fox News. I will match my ignorance with anyone's. No wonder the student couldn't find Washington D.C. on an American Map. Everyone knows it is in Mozambique.
Reply:As long as school subjects like Geography %26amp; European History remain elective subjects, most kids probably choose to do something less dry





My 5th or 6th grade Geography was most countries in the world. One each lesson (basic history, map, culture, natural resources and major imports %26amp; exports). I also played the board game Risk when I was younger so had a pretty good idea where things (roughly!) fitted together..





There is an argument that you don't need to know about what doesn't directly affect you ..
Reply:It's sad. Welcome to the new world. Public education in this country is pretty lame thanks to liberal policies and "fairness."





Why did we stop requiring Latin as part of an education?





You can't even have a pledge of allegiance because of the words "Under God" that some idiots put into it.





And what was the fascination with Ebonics?





It's the same liberal thinking that just says "Oh well, that's the way it is. Might as well accept it and deal with it so that we don't piss anyone off."





WRONG!





But don't worry, there are enough Americans that actually care about their education and their children's education to fill the void.
Reply:Yes that is a good reason it is because America is so big not all of them can be heard and they are taut to do exactly what their told thats the way the American government wants it there public schools suck and their minds aren't stimulated and having George bush as a leader Ha what kinda sick joke is that they are really screwed now. most of them are closed minded and refuse to bellive in anything different.
Reply:Because you don't have to be smart to live in america. And its sad. Hell President Bush most likely can't identify Washington DC. In america this is the rules. If your rich and famous thats you can do anything.


President bush was a C student
Reply:I live in America and I can pick ever state in the USA so I think you are taking to the wrong people!!!
Reply:That, is your public education tax dollars hard at work...