Why Are So Many Americans Not Interested in History? (Washington, slaves, president)
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History and any other subject. Most American's aren't interested in anything but "Dancing with the Stars", seeing what the Kardashians are up to, updating their facebook account, there next latte at starbucks, and the latest smart phone app.
MOST Americans? You do realize things like those shows have like 1-3 million viewership. Out of the 313 million people in the country ... that's not many, and certainly not "most." You're letting pop culture reporting make you think that it's something everyone is interested in. It's not.
Even a lot of those interested in history today are purely agenda-driven, in that they seek only information that will support their particular world views.
And it's not just history anymore. Even science in America has gotten so perverted by politics and agendas that many people have essentially turned off and tuned out. Although it's difficult to imagine how, I suppose math is next.
I myself have always loved history.As a kid,I had a castle with knights that i played with. We discussed history at home and current events all the time growing up. My parents were interested in the world around them. While I don't know much about my mother's side in Hungary, my dad's side was invovled in events in Germany during World War 2.My grandfather's cousin Generaloberst Carl Hilpert was commander of Army Group Courland during WW2.Some of daddy's relatives had been for Hitler and others against him. My dad himself was a vetran of three wars,WW2,Korea and VietNam.
History is really an exciting subject.It seems as though most people today are all about themselves,not anything else.
I think many older Americans are too interested in history (esp. the Civil War) while being almost totally dismissive of the future. Aside from worrying about the national debt, they care nothing about resource depletion, overpopulation, or environmental degradation.
Knowing history is like using tracer bullets. When you know where you came from, it's easier to know where you're headed. Maybe the ignorance of history is rampant in America simply because no one really wants to know their future.
I think many older Americans are too interested in history (esp. the Civil War) while being almost totally dismissive of the future. Aside from worrying about the national debt, they care nothing about resource depletion, overpopulation, or environmental degradation.
Meh....Too easily said without taking a few thing into account.
Politicians manipulate younger voters by convincing younger voters that their fresh ideas about this that or the other thing is needed, and that those voters are the only ones who care. It's nonsense. The environmental movements have been going on since the early 60s, and the members from back then are still active.
Someone wants your vote. And he's convinced you that older Americans are in the way. It's baloney.
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".
Does someone really want us into this war?
The back spin on this whole issue is now centering around the fact that:
(A) Russia has an exclusive arrangement to supply oil to Europe. It arrives via pipeline.
(B) Qatar is awash in natural gas, which is rapidly replacing oil as the standard energy source.
Quote:
Qatar, home to the world’s largest gas field along with Iran, has proposed a gas pipeline from the Gulf to Turkey that would traverse Syria to the Mediterranean, with the gas then being shipped to Europe.
However, Assad in 2009 refused to go along with the plan, instead inking deals with Russia and Iran.
You're right, of course. It is about money, with respect to one nation being wealthier than another. But it is not about money being made from fighting a war. In the end, Syria's "BFF" will be wealthy.
Bottom line: Russia DOES NOT want to lose their oil sales to natural gas. For right now, natural gas in Europe is pegged to the price of oil. Qatar could change all that. But then, so could the construction of a port in Louisiana being constructed by Cheniere Energy, because that's where America will export Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). At the lowest price in the world.
Gets complicated, yeah?
IMHO, History is more interesting to people who tend to be intellectually curious about lots of things, people who have a desire to understand the world around them. And finally, I think it is an age thing. I've noticed that it is often older folks who are more interested in history. The young folks are focused on fun, getting sex, new clothes, latest music or movies, sports or video games etc.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by j_k_k
Even a lot of those interested in history today are purely agenda-driven, in that they seek only information that will support their particular world views.
A pure study of history has no agenda except for the revelation of as much truth (or, in its absence, educated supposition) as can be unearthed. Take the eternal argument about the racial origin of the ancient Egyptians, for example. Too much of it is agenda-driven, based upon a desire for a certain outcome. This poisons everything. An honest study would seek out and evaluate all the evidence, then formulate an intelligent conclusion based upon sensible historigraphy. As such, the study of history is inexhaustibly fascinating.
As Dr. J & YAC are probably already aware since my particular historical area of interest is Africa, in particular northern & eastern Africa, there is virtually no way for me to avoid a collision course with the aryanistas, the nubian olmec and their armies of enablers & coddlers.
Despite this I continue to strive to demonstrate that you don't have to look a certain way, act a certain way or hate anyone to be interested about history. And I will continue to try to show that refusing to boost the self esteem of some of the most self-destructive elements of society does not make one a racist or a traitor or some other kind of nonsense.
Its quite unfortunate that the political establishment exacerbates the situation by appealing to the lowest denominator.
Thankfully I think many more people are interested in northern & eastern African history, especially in topics like sapien evolution and out of Africa migrations and other fascinating topics like how people successfully survived & thrived as farmers & herders in a desert. And that's only the tip of the iceberg.
Then I had some great history professors in college who were passionate about sharing how the past has shaped the world as we know it today. It also helped that our study materials and class discussions weren't sanitized or restricted. Sex, drugs, dirty deals, murder, religious debates, torture, rape, espionage, oppression of minorities and women....nothing was off topic or irrelevant. College kids are old enough to see how that all plays into societal norms and actions of the past. It was also the first time that I realized that historians don't have all the answers, and that what we know is always changing. That's exciting to me, and I still do enjoy reading history books and watching documentaries.
My first history prof told us all to read Lies My Teacher Told Me if we liked what we were learning in class. That book got me hooked, and I can't stop reading one thing or another about it . Then again, I don't have cable and I rarely watch TV.
I, too, am a history junkie. And I love James Loewen, the author of Lies My Teacher Told Me. It's a great lesson to not just accept things as they're presented - be skeptical, analytical, and question things. He's also written a book called Sundown Towns, a description of communities in the US that exclude one or more races, either informally or formally.
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