Americans enjoy thinking of themselves as the best and brightest. Unfortunately the data seem to contradict that belief.
Fewer than half of American teenagers who were asked basic history and literature questions in a phone survey knew when the Civil War was fought, and one in four said Columbus sailed to the New World some time after 1750, not in 1492.[…]
About a quarter of the teenagers were unable to correctly identify Hitler as Germany’s chancellor in World War II, instead identifying him as a munitions maker, an Austrian premier and the German kaiser.
On literature, the teenagers fared even worse. Four in 10 could pick the name of Ralph Ellison’s novel about a young man’s growing up in the South and moving to Harlem, “Invisible Man,” from a list of titles. About half knew that in the Bible Job is known for his patience in suffering. About as many said he was known for his skill as a builder, his prowess in battle or his prophetic abilities.
The proportion of writers who don’t know when it’s okay to split an infinitive was apparently not calculated by this survey, but we can certainly point to at least one New York Times writer who falls into that category. What Strunk calls incorrect comma placement is apparently part of the Times style manual, so the writer cannot be blamed for that.
It’s particularly impressive that in a country so taken with the literal truth of a book produced by politicians three centuries after the fact (if there was one), half of those in school, and therefore closest to the moment of learning, are seriously confused about what that book says.
But even if the best and brightest (i.e., Americans who slavishly follow whatever the right wing of the Democratic party says), sometimes make egregious errors, I thank whatever gods may be that we’re not like the benighted and godless commies (subscription required).
Our liberal enemies say that Nashi is a Kremlin project designed to protect against an Orange Revolution. Naturally, liberals like Garry Kasparov are not fascists or terrorists. But their criticism is precisely what allows teams of Chechen terrorists to roam free all over Europe. Vladimir Putin has subdued the spread of fascist ideology. Liberals now defend fascism. Their hatred for Putin has obscured everything else.
All hail the Great Leader Putin! Or, in our case, whoever the DLC nominates.
The prodigal fubar beat me to the punch this morning commenting on the NaderTraitor and his GOoPer sugar daddies.Strange how NaderTraitor seems to pop up at the most inconvenient moments for the Dems. I really have a hard time understanding his motivation.
Perhaps somewhere in the Rove blackmail files, there is a picture of Ralph doing something really embarrassing, like giving fellatio to a billy goat. In fact, it is probably a three-way that includes Tony Blair — I never could understand how that smart intelligent liberal could become Bush’s Bitch overnight.
Shame Ralph couldn’t be a man about it and commit seppuku.
The same could be said for others, whose lives have contributed far less to the common good than Nader’s.
So Chuck, you're down on Nader now too. Glad to have you aboard!
It seems to me that the relative ignorance of ordinary Americans is a desired result of our public school system. As I recall, history was the most boring subject taught by the least able teachers using a text that was selected for its inoffensiveness rather than its quality or accuracy. We were taught the hagiography of the great Americans, and how our nation moved from triumph to triumph all the while acting out of selfless morality and goodness.
Is it any wonder that we have trouble convincing Americans that the War on Terrah is bullshit? When I talk to professors, even in Ivy League schools, they are uniformly appalled by the level of ignorance of their students, particularly in the liberal arts.
As for Putin, IMHO he is a creation of the Friedman economic system the G-7 imposed on the Soviet Union after the collapse of communism. Had we supported Gorbachev's gradual approach toward a mixed economy, the Russian people would have suffered much less and we might have avoided both Yeltsin and Putin. Of course, ideological orthodoxy in "free-market" economics always trumps human needs and sane policy.
Not quite! I'm ragging on the writer of what I consider complete bullshit and ridiculous prose, very much of the type one expects from, say, Ann Coulter, accusing everyone who votes elsewise of treason.
I agree about history, and to some extent about Putin. But we would never have left Russia in good shape if we could avoid it, and we could. "All for ourselves, and nothing for others, has been, it seems, throughout the ages the vile maxim of the masters of mankind." — Adam Smith.
Posted by: Chuck Dupree on February 28, 2008 12:10 PMAs an aging member of the Leftist Lunatic Fringe, (Formerly known as moderates) I also was moved to react to the Times article. Just as one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, this news story, while sickening to many, is good news to a certain corporatist minority in power.
The mis-education of Americans is proving to be a valuable tool for perpetuating right wing power. Ignorance is strength.
Posted by: Dave Dubya on March 2, 2008 5:45 PM