What is wrong with us Americans these days???

Omg tell me about it. Iv never met another person with a real connection with the world outside of the US. Maybe becuase i was born in a different country i know a lil more then others. But i cant Believe the Ignorance And self worshiping that goes on. How everyone acts like thier celebrities or something they are not.. I cant #in stand it anymore. The sooner the Revolution the #in better. Maybe its the media but i dont understand how the majority thinks Russia is dirt poor aswell as Europe. Seriously i feel like punching these idiots so hard that i kill them.

Yes I have noticed that america in general seems naive both left and right. Alot of people suffer from being consumed with their social life and only what they can see directly effects them. They can't see past their nose. Having said that its a global occurence, this ignorance or out of whack scale of priorities is not bound by a political border.

Well now, there's some good stuff here.

Americans don't travel becasue they don't need to. As afluent as many U.S. familities are, travel is an expense that they don't justify. There is also a certain bias that has crept in to our society about other places. Because we tend to see them as less-well-developed, we tend to avoid them.

I'll use myself as an example. I never had to tavel beofre I became an author. Now, it's a part of what I do to make my living. I'm one of those people who does get sick each time I travel to Mexico. You can imaginewhat I must think of the place.

In terms of what's wrong with America today, we face a number of undesireable political trends. We have nobody but ourselves to blame for this state of affairs. We ignored our leaders for too long, and they've gotten used to running the country without us. What's good for them is no longer good for us.

As a practical matter, I think we're way past asking what's wrong. It's time to start asking what we'll do about it. I'm not the only person who writes on this subject. It's not an accident that people are searching out literature on this subject. It's time to be serious about this.

As to Americans not having passports and being sophisticated travellers...

I would disagree and say there are more people in the US that have the finacial means and the wish to travel abroad. Perhaps it is easier to do so in Europe where countries are smaller than some of our states and all you need is a car or a Euro rail pass.

I don't deny that the majority don't and are uninformed about things that don't concern their daily lives [ignorant is such a nasty word, really] Most humans care most about there own sphere of influence.

But you mean to tell me that people of China just flit around the world? Or the Russians before the wall fell? They could just up and leave anytime they want? I think its unfair to assume people are ignorant just because they don't have the need, or the means, nor the desire to see the world. A corn farmer in the mid west... why does he need to go to Paris... that kind of thing. He works from sunup to sundown to bring you food so you can sit at the computer or travel, but he doesn't have time Another 40 acres to plow before supper...


But I do remember a New Yorker a few years back coming into Toronto in July with skis on his car looking for snow

Hey Justin Oldham, you sent me a personal message, but since I am new I cannot respond. What is your book's name?

Originally posted by zorgon
As to Americans not having passports and being sophisticated travellers...

I would disagree and say there are more people in the US that have the finacial means and the wish to travel abroad. Perhaps it is easier to do so in Europe where countries are smaller than some of our states and all you need is a car or a Euro rail pass.

Yeah, that was kind of my point. You can go from desert to ice in America, so if you don't want to travel abroad, you don't have to...it's all on your doorstep.

But you mean to tell me that people of China just flit around the world? Or the Russians before the wall fell?

No. The only thing I can do is try to think how the American worldview was formed as compared to my own, British one.

How can I put it...When we were in school we got taught about the vikings, the crusades, war in Europe, Henry VIII and his beef with Rome, empire etc.. It was usual, for me at least, to be taught about 'stuff from around the world'.

Now, i'm going to make an assumption that maybe incorrect: history is taught primarily from a national perspective.

If this is correct, then students being taught history in American schools may be limited in their oppourtunities to familiarise themselves with locations and events from around the globe, which is simply a function of America's relatively short, yet internally tumultuous, existence.

There is also a certain bias that has crept in to our society about other places. Because we tend to see them as less-well-developed, we tend to avoid them.

Only 2% of American's will ever reach the top percentile,

A couple of quotes already posted that I thought fit the topic very well.... ;-)

I live in London, which is unlike the most of the rest of the UK insofar as it's people tend to be fairly well educated. I think this has something to do with alot of people moving to London to pursue a career, so we get a large cross section of regions, nations, religions etc.

I spent a couple of months in the US (New York, New Jersy) and had a great time. The one thing I did notice is that most people I met were more inclined to believe what they were told by the media than I am used to over here, (and the beer is terrible, but that's another thing).
I went in 2002 about a year after 9/11, so the media did have a very pro-US agenda which although I expected, I was surprised at the extent of.
Is this still the case, and do you have a reliable source (apart from ATS, lol) for a centered view?

Another great quote for you, sorry can't remember who said it but its very apt:

"All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing"

How can I put it...When we were in school we got taught about the vikings, the crusades, war in Europe, Henry VIII and his beef with Rome, empire etc.. It was usual, for me at least, to be taught about 'stuff from around the world'.

Now, i'm going to make an assumption that maybe incorrect: history is taught primarily from a national perspective.

Ah I see your point. Well you are not incorrect in your assumtion, though there is hope. My daughter here in Las Vegas is taking Japaneese culture and language classes in the local high school. Being from Canada myself we got a little broader view of the world, though it was mostly those same topics you mention, with a heavy consentration ao American history. But even the world history was ancient world history... the interesting stuff.

Not much about the current lives of other cultures, things that would be more relevant to today.

However as you mention the crusades, history in this matter does show that the middle east thing has been going on since before Christ, picked up steam after Christ and is still going today. So maybe more world history and exposure is what we need so we know we can't fix some things

Originally posted by myowncrusade

I went in 2002 about a year after 9/11, so the media did have a very pro-US agenda which although I expected, I was surprised at the extent of.
Is this still the case, and do you have a reliable source (apart from ATS, lol) for a centered view?

Another great quote for you, sorry can't remember who said it but its very apt:

"All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing"

Yes for the most part it is pretty pro US. Some more than others. CNN is pretty neutral, Fox is pro US. Well while conservatives are running everything. If a democrat/liberal was, then you would bet Mr Oreilly and Hannity would be barking.

We spend more on public education now than we ever have and the education budget increases every year. Turns out throwing money at a problem doesn't fix it. We don't hold students accountable. Liberal political correctness has taked over schools.
Education is looked upon by many as just day care. The fact is, the educational system in this country, whether public or private, is nothing more than a fountain. It takes the family and the student to decide what they will take from that fountain.
We are more worried about teaching our kids useless PC crap, than things like math, science, economics, geography, and communication.

I read a story about a school that had an enlarged nickel on the cover of their yearbook. They blocked out "In God We Trust" and gave stickers with those words to those students who didn't mind seeing it. You know schools are f-ed up when they can't even show a picture of American currency because there is a mention of "God" on the coin.
There is a reason why parochial schools blow away public schools in terms of graduation rates and test scores and it's not because they have more money or better facilities. It's that the famalies actually CARE about education and the schools don't have to worry about the next athiest lawsuit.
Think American students are stupid? Thank the ACLU and Teacher's Union.




[edit on 25-6-2006 by Apoc]

Originally posted by Apoc
We spend more on public education now than we ever have and the education budget increases every year. Turns out throwing money at a problem doesn't fix it. We don't hold students accountable. Liberal political correctness has taked over schools.
Education is looked upon by many as just day care. The fact is, the educational system in this country, whether public or private, is nothing more than a fountain. It takes the family and the student to decide what they will take from that fountain.
We are more worried about teaching our kids useless PC crap, than things like math, science, economics, geography, and communication.

I read a story about a school that had an enlarged nickel on the cover of their yearbook. They blocked out "In God We Trust" and gave stickers with those words to those students who didn't mind seeing it. You know schools are f-ed up when they can't even show a picture of American currency because there is a mention of "God" on the coin.
There is a reason why parochial schools blow away public schools in terms of graduation rates and test scores and it's not because they have more money or better facilities. It's that the famalies actually CARE about education and the schools don't have to worry about the next athiest lawsuit.
Think American students are stupid? Thank the ACLU and Teacher's Union.
[edit on 25-6-2006 by Apoc]

REPLY: APOC, you are so correct, and what you wrote is somewhat of an addition to what I posted earlier. However, it's the TEACHERS who need to be held accountable, and their superiors at their respectivve scools.

Outcome-based education, moral relativity, which has been taught for well over a decade, has ruined an entire generation of children with their moral social experiment. I saw the agenda of the past two years of the Nat'l. Teachers Association, and NONE of it was about better teachers of better education; it was all PC crap about teaching about homosexuals, how to get the Dums (sorry.... Dems) back into power, etc.

I agree that liberals are ruinning our schools with all the PC BS.

But I have not seen this trend in my everyday life. I am an American and most people I know are highly informed about worldly issuses.

-- Boat

Teacher's unions and special interest lobbies wouldn't have nearly so much traction if our career politicians had some spine. Trouble is, the people in power gave up trying to be moral years ago. Now, its just easier to take the money and give the services asked for, even if they aren't good for the country.

Again, I say that knowing the problem isn't enough. Now, it's time to figure out the solutions. Does mean revolt? Or, does it mean that things need to get a little worse before people decide to vote in reformers?

My own contention is that things will have to get much worse before enough people decide to get off their fat lazy cans and vote for reform. That sentiment may come too late, and I do think our career politicians know that. I think they're counting on it.

Well, people are ignorant of things because either they haven't studied about it or they don't understand what they have read about it. Politics and things like government are full of words that can be easily misunderstood or not understood at all.

The regular eduaction system for one thing is crap. I'm not sure how often we used dictionaries in school, not much I guess? Maybe earlier in my schooling we used dictionaries more? I'm having difficulty recalling how much time I spent using a dictionary? I remember glossaries where we learned new words; fine, but what about the basic words, and what about the words that were filling up these thick books in school? I know many of us have probably spent some time falling to sleep in class somewhere along the line, because we either didn't give a crap, or we didn't understand a damn thing going on at the time.

People are coming out of school illiterate, or partially literate. Sometimes they can't help but not be turned off by such subjects like politics. They don't understand it.

The school system assumes you know the definitions of the words that make up sentences and paragraphs.

Does anyone remember how often they used a dictionary in school? I'm curious also how often dictionaries are used in todays school system? It's been over 10 years since I've been in school.


Troy

Nothing wrong with us you SOB. There is sure something wrong with all the American bashers though. It's just the hip thing to do these days now isn't it kids!?!

Originally posted by Battlefresh
Nothing wrong with us you SOB. There is sure something wrong with all the American bashers though. It's just the hip thing to do these days now isn't it kids!?!

If most everyone's doing it, there must be a good reason.

Originally posted by Battlefresh
Nothing wrong with us you SOB. There is sure something wrong with all the American bashers though. It's just the hip thing to do these days now isn't it kids!?!

Nobody is bashing America. If you read the whole thread, you would see it is mostly accounts by Americans, including myself. Nobody is saying all Americans are ignorant, (well duh then that would mean I am ). But seriously, ignorance is surely abound. Not just in America, but in all western industrialized nations.

You're on target. This is an effort to be constructive. No more.

Ignorance is wide-spread across all democratic countries. I live in South Africa, and we tend to follow American ways here, and believe me, most of the teenagers here only care about 2 things.... Money and sex. Some of them even believe South Africa has the best army in the world. LOL, today's teenagers are SO ignorant and stoopid!

This is a great thread!
All the posts are great in showing what is going on and the state people are in. Every post here is priceless. It shows a lot of things.
Changes will start to happen very soon.