RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated - And he is 110% right, as always :)

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/11/2009 4:03:07 PM

Arpig

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Curling is actually kinda (Alinsky) fun.I played it once...not great fun, but still sort of...well the pints that went along with it didn't hurt either.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/11/2009 10:43:18 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: SpinnerofTales

quote:

We now have a majority in government who would further that sort of belief system, as well. Americans elect representatives who are willing to babysit them, cradle to grave. You don't have to work for anything, you don't even have to think because government will do it all for you.

It can't last, folks. ORIGINAL: Sanity

Isn't it amazing that every problem in this country is caused by the democrats? Thank you for pointing that out, Sanity. As usual your bi-partisan, results oriented postings illuminate any discussion.

He must be talking about wall street. That's the 'majority' that's in power. Heads they win...tails we lose.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/11/2009 10:57:01 PM

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quote:

He must be talking about wall street. That's the 'majority' that's in power. Heads they win...tails we lose. ORIGINAL: MrRodgers

Stronger than any political ideology is the golden rule: If you got the gold, you make the rules.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 12:05:07 AM

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FR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States

There appears to be a persistent perception that US citizens tend to be less widely educated than those in other countries. i have my own story about this as i once argued long and hard with an American engineer who insisted that it was quicker to get from Scotland to Seattle by flying over the Atlantic, rather than over the pole. Ten minutes later after i had produced a globe and a piece of string he apologised.
However i am quite certain that many Americans can find an example of a dim and uneducated Brit. i know i've met many of them.
Somehow though the myth sticks with Americans. Because, when foreigners meet, the area of expertise we generally notice is the others knowledge of our own culture. The US exports a gigantic amount of information regarding its own culture via media like movies. i can think of countless movies i've watched which give me some small insight into small town America. How many Americans have watched ten movies about life in France outside Paris, or life in the UK outside London?
Those movies do exist, but they tend not to get distribution in the US.
The rest of the world learn a lot about America via popular media, the US does not get anything like the same amount of information about the rest of the world.

This is usually just a minor cultural artefact...........it can become a serious problem when foreign policy is led by popular opinion. It's not a very well informed popular opinion.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 12:33:42 AM

Arpig

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I was going to ask how it was that,unliike the vast majority of Americans, I know the location of almost any country in the world and the capitals of most of them...until I realized that's because I have a thing for maps and atlas'. When I think about it, I don't know anybody other than my father who has the same knowledge of this as I do....so I guess its not much of an indication of the American education system. I will also point out (as I did much earlier on in this thread) that my high school education was almost entirely in "American" schools located in Japan (my grade school education was a combination of the Canadian and very traditional French Lycee systems). So there was nothing wrong with the American education system 30 years ago.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 12:39:44 AM

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Well, that's sort of my thesis. It's nothing to do with formal education per se. It's an artefact of the way US culture and popular media treat work from other countries, compared to how those other countries treat US work.

Name ten movies set in New York
Name ten movies set in L.A.
Name ten movies set in Edmonton
Name ten movies set in Cardiff.

The first two is easy, the last two is hard. Not because the movies don't exist but because they don't have the same sort of distribution and infrastructure.

What opportunities do Americans have to find out about life in other countries compared to the chances foreigners have to find out about life in the US?

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:04:55 AM

Arpig

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I suspect that's a lot of it, that and to be quite honest what goes on in the US has global ramifications. For an obvious example, whoever is Chancellor of Germany or President of France doesn't matter all that much to the whole world, but who the US President is does. Its the same way with many aspects of the US. We know about it because it matters to us...they don't know about what's going on in Canada or Austria because outside a select group of foreign policy types and some business leaders it just doesn't matter to the average American, just as I really have no idea what is going on in Tanzania...there's nothing in the news, but I bet their papers and TV is full of stories and scandals and such that occupies its citizens' minds and that they deem important,but because it makes no difference in my daily life and I have no specific familial or professional links so it doesn't matter to me and I make no effort to know.

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Why do they leave out the letter b on "Garage Sale" signs?

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:07:06 AM

hlen5

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Philosophy,

Thanks for your support!!

I think our education system sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. I also think that many schools do just fine. I think parents need to be both more supportive and PROACTIVE when it comes to their kids' education (quit complaining "the school didn't teach my kid to read", get up off your butt and help your kid learn to read yourself!!).

I once heard someone describe the US cirriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep, vs other educational systems being an inch wide and a mile deep.

Someone other poster said it's laziness that US citizens don't know much about other countries. There might a little truth to that.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:10:35 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: philosophy

Somehow though the myth sticks with Americans.

The reasons are two-old:

1) The principles underpinning the formation of the United States: European elites scoffed at Americans for not being elitist in the sense European nations were and their views were funnelled into the general population. You will even find this expressed by de Tocqueville - while praising the prosperity of the average American he felt that the nation was condemned to elect average leaders (a barbed compliment if ever there was one).

2) A history of a commercial outlook: you will find the exact the same sentiments expressed by continental Europeans when discussing the English. It's a deep-rooted historically held view that the English distrust intellectualism - while in France it is held in high regard. The English have traditionally looked to commerce for the answers and the US follows this commercial path - whereas nations such as Germany have traditionally looked inward for the answers (in part due to a lack of political power and economic opportunities afforded to the German middle-classes). So in those countries there is a long-held view that commercial nations lack intellectual vigour.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:15:04 AM

Arpig

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I don't know if I'd say its laziness hlen. I mean in all honestly what friggin difference does it make that the Canadian government's new deficit reduction plan is likely to increase employment insurance premiums to a bartender in Houston, or a store clerk in Augusta? Like I said before, if it really doesn't matter to your life, then odds are you won't bother to find out about it.

(Though after mentioning Tanzania in my previous post I have an urge to find some Tanzanian news sites just to read up on what is happening there

).

Edited to add the word "increase" thanx hlen

< Message edited by Arpig -- 9/12/2009 1:59:30 AM >

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Why do they leave out the letter b on "Garage Sale" signs?

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:21:13 AM

hlen5

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Arpig

.......what friggin difference does it make that the Canadian government's new deficit reduction plan is likely to employment insurance premiums.......

(Though after mentioning Tanzania in my previous post I have an urge to find some Tanzanian news sites just to read up on what is happening there).

Did you mean "increase" insurance premiums??

Also scootch over, and we can look at a map of Tanzania together (Hlen loooves maps!!)!

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 2:04:19 AM

Arpig

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quote:

Did you mean "increase" insurance premiums??

Yeah I did hlen...thanks for pointing it out in time for me to correct it.

quote:

Also scootch over, and we can look at a map of Tanzania together (Hlen loooves maps!!)!

I just love maps as well, they just fascinate me. One of the things I most regret about the massive downsizing I went through over the last few years is that somewhere along the line I got seperated from my collection of historical atlases (God I do love an historical atlas!). I have a bunch of poster sized antique maps that I have carefully tucked away waiting for the day I can have them mounted so I can hang them on the wall.

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Why do they leave out the letter b on "Garage Sale" signs?

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 8:12:23 AM

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quote:

I have a bunch of poster sized antique maps that I have carefully tucked away waiting for the day I can have them mounted so I can hang them on the wall.
ORIGINAL: Arpig

I have a couple of woman friends who I feel the same way about. (sorry...couldn't resist).

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:41:24 PM

Brain

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Bill Maher opening monologue last night

http://www.youtube.com/user/NotTullycast#play/uploads/4/rY7ZNC1mbZE0

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:42:45 PM

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Brain, the link is fucked, I get invalid paramaters........fix that bitch up, please.

Ron

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:43:46 PM

Brain

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Try this again

http://www.youtube.com/user/NotTullycast#play/uploads/4/rY7ZNC1mbZE

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:45:53 PM

Brain

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Did it work? It worked on my computer this time.

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:49:12 PM

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Yeah, it just shows how desperate and worried the left is..........

LOLOLOLOFUCKINGL

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:49:12 PM

Brain

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I don't know why the second one works and the first one doesn't because I think they're exactly the same

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RE: Bill Maher : most Americans are Dumb and Uneducated... - 9/12/2009 1:51:16 PM

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no the first one has a trailing zero (computer geek here)

Ron

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