Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Many of the skin color/race topics are started by trolls that have been banned here multiple times, from this side of the fence it looks like a small vocal minority gets more recognition than it should.
On topic:
I feel I have to chime in here. I'm Polish, I live in Poland. We've had Panzers rolling through the country, our history is very long and very complex, with many wars and battles and whatnot. In the media, historical topics pop up daily, you really can't swing a dead cat without hitting one... but the people ? The vast majority couldn't care less. They have no education, no knowledge of history. They mix up basic facts. Some are just ignorant, some are dumb, but many intelligent and educated people don't care.
I remember 30 years ago clearly. In fact, I'll confess to being one of those ignorant, uninterested ones, but that was 40 years ago. Today, I am different.
The whole idea that everyone should vote is a bad idea. A lot of people should just stay home. Their knowledge is so scant, their motives for voting are so narrow, and are so rooted in self interest that we could do without their input.
I remember 30 years ago clearly. In fact, I'll confess to being one of those ignorant, uninterested ones, but that was 40 years ago. Today, I am different.
The whole idea that everyone should vote is a bad idea. A lot of people should just stay home. Their knowledge is so scant, their motives for voting are so narrow, and are so rooted in self interest that we could do without their input.
Sure, you are welcome to pitch in, and it's interesting to hear that ( from American point of view) everything was the same 30 years ago, but the reason I asked Yac this particular question was because I wanted to hear whether it was a case in Poland.
I know that in Russia for example, the level of knowledge of history ( and other subjects) fall dramatically within the last 20 years or so. But then, again, I can see that their system of education has been slowly but surely Americanized, where before it was closer to German system of education.
I was just commenting to a friend the other day how I hated history until I got out of school. The textbooks we had were terrible, like eating cardboard for lunch. Years later I gave it another try and read several of the US history 'survey' type books, including Howard Zinn, Paul Johnson, HS Commager, and Larry Schweikert. I wish I could go back and retake 10th grade US history using any of those 4 books.
The textbooks we had were very dumbed-down, and did not do a good job giving human-interest context.
I think you nailed it. History is made (mostly) by people. The figures that are pointed to in history, though (perhaps due to lack of time, partially) do not seem human. We are not taught of what they did that turned out wrong, things that they could have done better, people who had bad home lives and so were driven at their work lives. We are not taught history, usually, through the perspectives of ALL humans who are affected. The teaching of history, particularly before college, is horribly biased and something in many people senses that it is a con game - phony - so people just get turned off. Don't forget, too, that with each passing generation what most of us call history gets maybe 70 years older.
Eh, you could be more general and say "why do so many people not enjoy reading?" - Reading takes effort and most history-buffs (anywhere) prefer to read.
I think you nailed it. History is made (mostly) by people. The figures that are pointed to in history, though (perhaps due to lack of time, partially) do not seem human. We are not taught of what they did that turned out wrong, things that they could have done better, people who had bad home lives and so were driven at their work lives. We are not taught history, usually, through the perspectives of ALL humans who are affected. The teaching of history, particularly before college, is horribly biased and something in many people senses that it is a con game - phony - so people just get turned off. Don't forget, too, that with each passing generation what most of us call history gets maybe 70 years older.
I think you articulated it a little better than I did. The history classes I had (long time ago) were primarily dates, places and names. College was a little better. I took Western Civ and non-western civ (I choose Islamic Civ) but it was not until I got out of school that I got turned on to history. History should be have natural appeal. I am now a blue collar worker and hear more interesting discussions of history in my blue collar lunch room than I ever did in high school.
A government killing a couple thousand people with chemical weapons is worse than the same government killing a couple hundred thousand people with normal bullets and bombs... somehow. Now we can finally go in and have another fun, profitable (for the 1%, anyway) war!
So what else is on TV tonight?
Anyway, not ALL Americans are dumb and oblivious to history... they are just powerless in the face of such awesome stupidity.
Well actually, you may have something here. I do also wonder about the "who stands to profit" factor.
Someone want us to get into this war really badly- I think maybe we need to, as my college business professor says, "follow the money".
I agree with Yac 100%. History is not a popular topic amongst people in general. Seriously. I've met Mexicans who didn't know their country was originally a monarchy after independence from Spain. Nor could they tell me the name of their first president. Same with Brazilians. I've met Cambodians who said they've never heard of the Khmer Rouge. There are Algerians who can't tell me when their country gained independence. There are Greek people who don't know when their country abolished the monarchy. There are Germans who are unfamiliar with Otto von Bismarck. And on and on.
I love reading about history. If I ever go to a bookstore or library, sooner or later I find myself in the history section. I read about history constantly on the internet too. I don't blame people for not liking history. The U.S. isn't the only place where their educational system has a skewed view of history. Does Turkey talk about the Armenian Genocide? No. Is Brazil big on talking about slavery? No. Does Italy go into depth about their violent past when they colonized African countries? No.
The U.S. is certainly not the only place where you can meet people who don't care about politics. I once had a Mexican woman call me a weirdo because I knew the name of the current president of Mexico. I am being serious here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yac
Many of the skin color/race topics are started by trolls that have been banned here multiple times, from this side of the fence it looks like a small vocal minority gets more recognition than it should.
On topic:
I feel I have to chime in here. I'm Polish, I live in Poland. We've had Panzers rolling through the country, our history is very long and very complex, with many wars and battles and whatnot. In the media, historical topics pop up daily, you really can't swing a dead cat without hitting one... but the people ? The vast majority couldn't care less. They have no education, no knowledge of history. They mix up basic facts. Some are just ignorant, some are dumb, but many intelligent and educated people don't care. They focus on what's in front of them instead of looking back.
What I'm saying is, it's not an American problem, or not only American.
Especially nowadays when everything has to be interesting and simple, when as we know history is sometimes a bit dull but almost never simple.
Yac.
To me, it's a personality trait that explains the lack of knowledge in history for most people moreover the "biased, politically correct taught history" as spoken of by several people here. The public school version of history likely produced the lack of interest in history, but it's not the cause for all of them. History is relevant to those of us on this subforum because we enjoy learning about it. But to others, it's not relevant to their lives at all. Even if a some "SHTF" scenario happens as many people like to mention, in the aftermath of the event, most people are still not going to bother learning about what caused it, as they would just listen to whatever surviving mainstream media there are and assume whatever they air as fact. It's a personality trait embedded in them. Even many educated people don't know history because they lack passion for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by certsevtxert
This is a dumb thread since the entire premise is inherently flawed. Unsubscribed.
What says you?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
