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I know, I was rooting for John Kerry. What I wonder is, how would you describe the people that voted for Bush in 2004?
I did not like Kerry. My vote for him was a vote against Bush. Regarding people that voted for Bush? You know I don't like broad brushes. In my experience, tho, debating all over the net during the 2004 primaries and elections, I came across several reasons why people were voting for Bush, and quite a bit of it didn't have to do with the war.
For example, the abortion issue. It's a real prize for the religious right; a rabbit to pull out of the hat when needed. If abortion wasn't legal in this country, the right would probably lose a lot of support in general. I came across a lot of people that vote on that single issue alone; people that didn't agree with Bush, but were pro-life. Check out this link noting 19% of voters... Abortion Issue Guides One in Five Voters
Other types I came across were folk like my dad; the very ones you complain about. They're soley (sp?) exposed to right news sources (Fox, Rush, etc). When I approached my father about the 2002 state of the union address way back when, he didn't want to hear about it. Simple common sense told me if we had faulty information from the get go, we should sit on our decisions for a while. Ya know, see one roach there's probably a thousand in the walls. This is why I cannot understand why people were getting all in a huff about Obama taking his time to make a decision IRT Afghanistan. Hind sight tells we should wait; mull it over; not rush into anything.
But, some people, ime, are significantly influenced by the media. Another reality is that many are generally partisan. It does not matter who is running, they will vote with their party of choice.
Pamky, something else that is fair to consider is that it's very difficult to form an opinion and take a solid position on a number of issues. I'm not speaking of folk that will hold fast to a given position with limited information. We certainly have enough of that. But, to really get an idea of what's actually going on is hard. For one, information always seems to be delivered with bias/opinion from the source. Two, the time investment isn't always feasible.
Take a look at climate change, which is much easier to contend with due to journals. I cannot make heads or tails of it most of the time, and I'm a scientist. There's so much information out there, so much to be reviewed. And I have read several publications over the years. My dad, OTOH, is clear on where he stands. It's an easier task because it's unnecessary for him to spend the time researching in order to hold his views. Most of the time, all I can say is "I don't know".
Point being, if it's difficult to flesh out the truth in matters where I actually have some training (at least I'm able to read and comprend the research), it's nigh impossible to have a clear understanding on foreign policy (where I have no training); to be able to reasonably predict consequences of specific paths. How anyone is able to do so, is beyond my scope.
OTOH, the Iraq war was less of an issue for me. There wasn't any evidence offered up at all from what I recall. There was baseless conjecture and a lot of fear tactics stemming from 9/11. Still, nothing was brought to the table. I'm not sure what to think about Afghanistan.
If your own country plans a war, which affects million of people, yes I strongly recommend that people get some information.
About the country they want to attack, the reasons why its being attacked and so.
If you vote for a president that want to start a war, or has started a war, you have to get familiar with the circumstances.
Why do you think people are angry that your country started a war without even having a legitimate reason?
So to answer your question: If your actions affect the lives of people outside of the US, then you at least should know what your government is doing.
And you think a lot of Americans don't know this? One of the things many people in this country are so fed up with is the government. You don't think that maybe myself or other people in the country feel what this war has done?
Its not symbolic when a german soldier dies, or when the german troops are responsible for the killings of innocent people. I hope this war ends pretty soon, because I don`t see the West succeed in that region.
No - it's not symbolic when ANY solder dies in war... but I believe that Afghanistan is at the heart of Islamic terrorism - and we either fight there - or encourage more disastrous attacks on civilians with far more loss of life than even 9/11.
However, 5,000 troops on the ground is a token force in the scheme of things - that's just the plain truth..
Have you ever seen Jay Leno do his "Jaywalking" bit. He goes out into the street and asks people at random questions like what countries border the U.S.
He gets a lot of blank stares and some very wrong answers. He claims that he never has to interview more than 10-15 people to get some major league stupid answers.
I saw another segment where a man on the street asked several people if they could name a country that starts with the letter U. Well, there is Uganda and Uzebekestan, but these people didn't even guess their own country: the United States.
Why? Discuss.
1) They use the absolute best bits from about a dozen questions asked of over a dozen people.
2) They use follow up questions when someone shows a weak spot to get them to say even more dumb things.
3) The American education system sucks.
4) They probably ask more than 15 people anyways.
5) I wonder how the people of some other countries would stack up. Trust me, people outside the US are pretty damn dumb as well.
Why are Americans so ignorant about the rest of the world?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zekester
Have you ever seen Jay Leno do his "Jaywalking" bit. He goes out into the street and asks people at random questions like what countries border the U.S.
He gets a lot of blank stares and some very wrong answers. He claims that he never has to interview more than 10-15 people to get some major league stupid answers.
I saw another segment where a man on the street asked several people if they could name a country that starts with the letter U. Well, there is Uganda and Uzebekestan, but these people didn't even guess their own country: the United States.
Why? Discuss.
Let me see if I understand you here...
You're willing to pass judgment on the mentality of more than 300 million people based on the 2 minute comedy routine from a late night TV program?
Feel free to correct my misperception if I've misread you.
You're willing to pass judgment on the mentality of more than 300 million people based on the 2 minute comedy routine from a late night TV program?
Feel free to correct my misperception if I've misread you.
Thank you. You know they show these things for entertainment purposes. Everyone is going to get a kick out of these people. It's not like every single American just absolutely thinks this way.
You're willing to pass judgment on the mentality of more than 300 million people based on the 2 minute comedy routine from a late night TV program?
Feel free to correct my misperception if I've misread you.
Agreed.
Maybe our education system could spend less time on self-esteem, "ethnicity of the month" study, and tolerance/diversity brainwashing, and start teaching FACTS. Then maybe Jay's interviewees would perform better.
Another thought that came to mind when I read the OPs post is that maybe most Americans don't have time to read and study because they are too busy working their @sses off in order to send billions of dollars in aid to third world countries and other losers around the globe. You know, no good deed goes unpunished . . .
Historically we've never needed to know much about the world outside of the North American hemisphere because we used to be isolated from the rest of the world by oceans. So our schools never stressed world history. But modern communications and faster transportation has changed our need to learn more about the world because our world is essentially a lot smaller now. But now we have school systems that are struggling for money and they don't even offer very much in the way of American history anymore, let along world history. I'd like to see some elective, after-schools course added on a pay-as you-go basis for things like art, music, sports, band, etc., so that would free up money and time to put more history back in the curriculum.
Last edited by Wayland Woman; 12-27-2009 at 12:01 PM..
Maybe our education system could spend less time on self-esteem, "ethnicity of the month" study, and tolerance/diversity brainwashing, and start teaching FACTS. Then maybe Jay's interviewees would perform better.
Another thought that came to mind when I read the OPs post is that maybe most Americans don't have time to read and study because they are too busy working their @sses off in order to send billions of dollars in aid to third world countries and other losers around the globe. You know, no good deed goes unpunished . . .
The Nr.1 mentality again. Only US Americans work their asses off.
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Why are Americans so ignorant about the rest of the world?
