Why are so many people in this country so ignorant?

[Xanikk999]

Someone's quote got me thinking. I tried to find articles on the web on ignorance of common knowledge stuff by American citizens.

I can't say the results make me happy about my countrymen.

Finally, 19 percent of men who took part in the study couldn't name the country America won its independence from; while 1/3 of women surveyed couldn't name England as the former empire that controlled the American colonies.

How is this even possible when i was in school this is the first thing i remember them teaching you in elementary school. How is it possible to be so stupid?? Where did these idiots go to school?

Source

Other stuff i dug up but could not link to a credible source:

64 per cent of people questioned for a recent poll said they were open to the idea of teaching creationism in addition to evolution in schools, while 38 per cent favoured replacing evolution with creationism.

40 per cent of Americans believe God will eventually intervene in human affairs and bring about an end to life on Earth, according to a survey carried out in 2002. Of those believers, almost half thought this would occur in their lifetime with a return of Jesus from heaven.

1 adult American in five believes that the Sun revolves around Earth, according to one study carried out last summer.

80 per cent of Americans surveyed by the CNN TV news network believe that their government is hiding evidence of the existence of space aliens.

70 per cent believe it likely that Saddam Hussein was involved personally in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

80% believe that the U.S government is hiding evidence about existing space aliens from us.

Let's think logically about this. If our government can't even keep military leeks and scandals such as Watergate and other crap from becoming public how do people think that they could keep something as juicy as this from becoming known by a whistle-blower?

The problem in this country I believe is people respond to these polls and say they believe in something but they never stopped to think about how illogical those beliefs really are. If you stop to analyze the facts its almost virtually impossible that such things like the U.S moon landing were a hoax. Yet people seem to believe this nonsense.

It is my firm belief that these "idiots" would recant these beliefs, (as long as they werent tied to religious beliefs) if faced with strong evidence. Rarely does one cement himself into falsified views when in the presence of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

What are your thought on this?

 

[W|M]

There are really stupid people from all over the world. America just has more of them per capita.

 

[Silurian]

There are ignorant people in all countries

 

[Mango Elephant]

I really, really doubt that's accurate.

 

[Karalysia]

80% believe that the U.S government is hiding evidence about existing space aliens from us.

Roswell, Area 51? Come on man, you know as well as I do what the government gets up to. I have no doubt that there is some degree of truth to this, I believe that there may be somewhat compelling evidence that the government is keeping from us even if they haven't made contact yet.

 

[Xanikk999]

There are ignorant people in all countries

Of course but why do we have so many people here that do not know such basic facts as the ones i quoted?

I wish I could further divide these people who failed the survey by race, location, and social class.

I would be willing to bet they arent from Northern Virginia.

If an American graduates from high school and has no clue who we declared independence from among other crucial elementary facts our school system needs to reworking.

There should be some basic things you can't get out of school without knowing. I am really saddened people can be so ignorant.

 

[Harvin87]

There are really stupid people from all over the world. America just has more of them per capita.

This.

 

[Xanikk999]

Roswell, Area 51? Come on man, you know as well as I do what the government gets up to. I have no doubt that there is some degree of truth to this, I believe that there may be somewhat compelling evidence that the government is keeping from us even if they haven't made contact yet.

Do you really think that with the massive amounts of people likely to be involved in such a discovery and the subsequent research that they could keep it a secret? I have no faith in our government's ability to keep such an incident secret.

 

[stormerne]

Well I sympathize. I'm British expat and a legal permanent resident of the US. The geographic Americocentrism of the people here is breathtaking, for sure. But the media rarely tells them of anything else, and what news that filters through from abroad is often days old. Little wonder that many Americans are so ignorant.

But there's a difference between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance can be remedied with education. Stupidity is incurable. The measure of stupidity in the US is high, but I'm not sure it's that much higher than elsewhere.

There are certainly people who take refuge in prejudice instead of being able to discuss or argue a case. I've seen it in this forum in response to my own comments. To be fair to them, perhaps those people are actually able, but they can't be bothered to think when it's so easy to parrot the prejudice some parts of the media have fed them.

 

[Leonel]

I think it's the idea of national exceptionalism; that we're the best and the other countries can take off.

 

[Tacitusitis]

Church

 

[Xanikk999]

Church

Not every church in this country is crazy conservative like the ones that breed nutcases you hear on the news (Most American politicians fall under this category).

Not everyone who goes to church treats the bible as a book of facts and god's true word.

 

[Tacitusitis]

Not every church in this country is crazy conservative like the ones that breed nutcases you hear on the news (Most American politicians fall under this category).

Not everyone who goes to church treats the bible as a book of facts and god's true word.

The question is not the particular kinds of ignorance and stupidity that particular churches promote, but the intellectual attitude promoted by churches as a whole. Obeisance to an authority to tell you the truth. Excusing bad reasoning in the support of a "good cause."

From churches came a whole bunch of other ignorance promoting institutions. For example talk radio draws a direct line back to preachers.

 

[Clement]

Do you remember old Sherlock Holmes?

His friend Watson once found out that Holmes was unaware that the earth went around the sun and not the other way around, Watson was shocked that such a brilliant man was ignorant of something so simple and widely known.

He asked Holmes how this could be possible, Homes simply replied with something along the lines of "oh really? the earth orbits the sun? i had no idea, and i will do my very best to forget it again as soon as possible, it is of absolutely no consequence to my work at all".

I suppose people learn what they need to i guess, it does'nt necessarily or always mean they are ignorant.

 

[bhsup]

Well funnily enough, it was the BRITISH Empire, not the ENGLISH Empire that we won independence from.

 

[Darth Caesar]

I live in a country full of idiots. I'm glad i'm not one.

 

[Dachs]

Do you remember old Sherlock Holmes?

His friend Watson once found out that Holmes was unaware that the earth went around the sun and not the other way around, Watson was shocked that such a brilliant man was ignorant of something so simple and widely known.

He asked Holmes how this could be possible, Homes simply replied with something along the lines of "oh really? the earth orbits the sun? i had no idea, and i will do my very best to forget it again as soon as possible, it is of absolutely no consequence to my work at all".

I suppose people learn what they need to i guess, it does'nt necessarily or always mean they are ignorant.

I have tried to keep to this example in my own life; it never turns out as well as does Holmes', and I invariably learn things I don't need or want to.

 

[Xanikk999]

Well funnily enough, it was the BRITISH Empire, not the ENGLISH Empire that we won independence from.

Well since the government of the British Empire was controlled by and centered in England one could argue the rest of Britain and its colonies was part of an English Empire.

 

[Darth Caesar]

I think for the purposes of the thread that is fairly irrelevant.

 

[bhsup]

Well since the government of the British Empire was controlled by and centered in England one could argue the rest of Britain and its colonies was part of an English Empire.

Not really since unification with Wales and Scotland was on the books.