John Harwood: Let's Face It, In a Country of Three Hundred Million People, There are a Lot of Stupid People
By Heather Sunday Sep 06, 2009 9:00am
John Harwood lets one slip on MSNBC and tells the truth about these people fear mongering over the President speaking to school children next week.
Novotny: John, what about this controversy over opposition to Obama's speech to school children?
Harwood: I've got to tell you Monica, I've been watching politics for a long time and this is, this one is really over the top. What it shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy and let's face it, in a country of three hundred million people there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that's it's somehow unhealthy for kids for the President to say work hard and stay in school, you're stupid.
Novotny: Ouch.
Harwood: In fact, I'm worried for some of those kids, I'm worried for some of those kids of those parents who are upset. I'm not sure they're smart enough to raise those kids.
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Well said.
offer the following subversive, marxist suggestions to your children.
Study hard. Stay in school. Mind your parents.
To a lot of these parents he was refering to, it is a shame thses kids grow up with parents they will mind.
The 25% that supported bush are about the stupidest bunch of morons to ever live in this country!
republicanism is a mental illness!
This post should be on the front page! It is nice to see somebody who is pretty main stream say the harsh truth about these idiots.
"...not smart enough to raise those kids" or vote
or breathe
PRICELESS!!
of 282 Million advanced and enlightened people?
(Minus the other 25 Million of course)
the resident population of the United States, projected to 09/06/09 at 16:05 GMT (EST+5) is
307,375,352
COMPONENT SETTINGS FOR SEPTEMBER 2009
One birth every.................................. 7 seconds
One death every.................................. 13 seconds
One international migrant (net) every............ 35 seconds
Net gain of one person every..................... 10 seconds
That Harwood is the exception instead of the rule in terms of the truth telling by our media!
For telling it like it is he will never be asked to speak again.
Mike Judge made a movie about how stupid America is getting. Hollywood and the powers that be refused to market a movie that portrayed Americans as being mind-numbingly stupid, and that was a big part of its sparse distribution and lack of success.
The Trial
What I was expecting from your link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSpDNgQSJ1o&fe...
One of the best movies ever, like Office Space. Hollywood and the "powers" who tried to stop this movie can go F themselves. The people, the paying public, have decided.
Bravo Johnny
They had it all at 27 and 26 years old.
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/23/29...
...that we should all be so surprised when a national commentator comes out and says what is so obvious. We have become so accustomed to cable and network news making allowances for the goofy right that we don't expect simple honesty.
Still, maybe this is a sign that the tin-foil-hat crowd has finally jumped the shark and even the brain-dead Beltway press has had enough.
..but you're prolly wrong, it's just a little bump in the road that's spiralling down to the bottom.
When people act stupid about Obama the thing to say to them is "you're an idiot" not "you're a racist".
n/t
"Stupid is, as stupid does."
Him?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROegjk8f8Ng
right wing version.
You're awesome. Simpsons good. Family Guy better :-)
YEAH JOHN!!!!
The truth will set you free!!! YEAH!!!
Election Results: 2012 - Democratic Party vs the Stupid Party
a la
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FFTx6AKmU
(That shouldn't be too hard to write...)
Amen
Out of 300 million, how many do you estimate to be- to use a better word, ignorant?
70%
You're either an optimist or a conservative.
The other 30-40 mill just don't give a shit. That leaves the people who voted for Obama. And alot of them are running out of patience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo
As George Carlin put it, "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."
Would be the GOP.
Ignorance can be cured by reading and listening. Stupid is bone-deep and permanent.
Obama wants to take your children away from you!!!!!!!!!
It just won't stop will it?
Some people might want their children taken away from them.
might want to be taken away from their parents.
It seems that these are the same people that the Republican Party depend on...the ones who are fooled by right-wing talk radio, the same ones who supported criminals like Bush Cheney, the ones who vote against their own best interest because of Guns and Gays. The same ones who are lead to believe that Health Care Reform with a Public Option is somehow bad for them.
How Can You Reason With A Kitchen Table???????
they don't have dining rooms so how can you argue with a dining room table.
If you could reason with Republicans there wouldn't be any Republicans.
AMEN. Well said. I only wish Obama and his administration would attack back like this
Actually while his comment is facilely glib in a satisfactory way, it's internally illogical.
When a small portion of the population fears the president is gonna indoctrinate little Susie and Jamal, to the detriment of their parental control, you don't threaten them with even the unspoken possibility that they could be deemed unfit parents and have their kids taken away, thus essentially proving to their reptilian minds that they were correct in their initial assumption.
"....he will never be asked to speak again."
yup. I wonder how long and violently Mr.Howard will be hounded to retract what he said.
How soon before he apologises?
This is something that's been needing to be said for a while now. Yes, this whole damned thing is stupid, from the birthers and on.
Worry about the kids? Yes. Let's hope some of them rebel against their dim parents and opt to be intelligent, to spite them if nothing else.
They think it would be a horrible thing to have socialist "group thinkers" integrate their childrens minds. They far prefer training them toward the good ol capitalist model where those full of the most unrelenting,dog eat dog,greed,avarice and selfishness are the most successful.
http://photos.silive.com/photos/advance/85701...
Take the bottom 10% of Americans on the intelligence bell curve and you have 30 million people. That's a whole lotta stupid.
...with an IQ of ~70 or less.
If you want a distribution of teh stupid start of with ~95 IQ or less, you'll end up with near 130 million dumb as a post 'Murikens!
But stupid is not an intelligence thing exclusively, it crosses all boundaries. The sad part of that is the distribution is independent of wealth, education or social standing. I would bet that the number of truly stupid people in the world (not just the US) is on the order of 80%. It just shows up as a blatant issue in the US because of the piss poor educational system and the culture of self interested idiocy that has been promulgated there.
Symes, you really nailed it!
In 2008, there was a 77% graduation rate from high school, below that of most developed countries.
United States Rank / World Education Statistics
Mathematical literacy 493 [18th of 27]
Reading literacy 504 [15th of 27]
Scientific literacy 499 [14th of 27]
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united...
I've used that site to shoot down flag waving mouth breathers for the last 2 years, nothing like providing the facts to take the wind out of their sails!
let's hear more from these spokes "journalists"
If only more would be free to speech and report actual news instead of the short corrected version we get that supports the advertisements and commercials. A short live breath of fresh air.
.... and it is time to get in the mud with these "uninformed". It is time to call a spade a shovel, and the "uninformed", stoopid.
Being uninformed is not a crime, but closing your mind to learning is what it is, STOOPID AS HELL!
Spot on rascalcat. Here is the problem. The right in this country is the alternate learning.They've intentionally walled themselves off with their own set of facts from their own think tanks and Iraqi study groups. They have formed their own media, that they use exclusively, to tell them they are always right and the enemy must be destroyed. They have come up with their own morality that finds wars as noble and healthcare as an evil plot. Hell, you know, the list is endless. The point is that they literally have their own alternate reality of their own making. I am fearful that there is no cure for the stupid.
As someone said so well above. "If you could reason with Republicans there wouldn't be any Republicans."
Is that there's so many of them. There has to be some conservatives who are seeing this and are asking WTF?
On the one hand, I'm sure that they see this lunatic fringe for what they are, on the other hand, the lunatic fringe is about all they have left.
I wish more in the media would quit pandering to the intellectually challenged and declare like it is...Well said Harwood!
I think Mr. Harwood tempered his statement too much. There aren't just a lot of stoopid [sic] people in this country, this country is dominated by stupidity. It's no wonder, with the crumbling education system we have and a national addiction to TV shows that embrace and glorify stupidity, we have a national crisis of ignorance. There isn't one other free country in the world that debates whether to teach science or the bible. There are few places in the world where teaching your child to use a gun is more important than teaching your child to read.
These are the last days of Roman sunshine. Enjoy your deep fried bread and circuses.
"I'm not sure they're smart enough to raise those kids."
You need a license to drive a car but any idiot can have a kid.
My wife and I went through two international adoptions. The process we had to go through was extensive, and took over a year each time; background checks, criminal checks, financial reviews, home visits, etc. However, you're right..........any two idiots can get together in the conventional fashion and have as many offspring as they want. 80% of these people would not have made it through the process we went through.
Just food for thought..........
I loved the headline in a British paper right after DUHbya "won" in 2004. It read: "How Can 59 million People Be So Stupid?"
If I was able to get my hands on that, I'd frame it.
... at my desk at work.
Indeed ... how can so many be so stupid?
And then turn right around and vote for McGramps/Caribou Barbie?
BID
In a country of 300 million people,
and considering how the Conservatives watered down our education system,
and considering the many paid Conservative propagandists on TV and radio,
and considering the Conservative Religious windbags that run the many Fundamentalist churches,
and considering the number of political crisis junkies and control freaks who parade as experts,
and considering the Jerry Springer effect on popular culture,
we sure do have a lot really stupid people in the good 'ol USA -- Enough to make Homer Simpson proud.
****
Scully: Homer, we're going to ask you a few simple yes or no questions. Do you understand?
Homer: Yes. (lie dectector blows up)
****
Homer: How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?
****
Homer: I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman.
Simpsons, good. Family Guy, better :-)
-----
Peter: Oh my god, Brian. There's a message in my Alpha Bits. It says, 'Ooooooo.'
Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.
-----
Bonnie: Somebody save him, he can't swim!
Peter: Oh, he's not even kicking. Kick Joe, kick.
Lois: Peter, he's a paraplegic!
Peter: That doesn't mean he can't hear. Kick Joe, kick!
-----
Brian: Peter, did you read the fine print on this loan contract?
Peter: Um, if by "read" you mean imagined a naked lady, then, yes.
-----
(watching Sesame Street)
Peter: Have they ever shown him doing somebody in and then feeding on him?
Brian: You're asking me if they've ever done an episode where the Count kills someone, and then drinks their blood for sustinance?
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: No, I don't think they've done that one yet.
go across country in an RV with Quagmire:
Stewie: "I think I'll go pump the chemical toilet."
Upon seeing Quagmire with a hooker at a motel, "Looks like you're going to do the same."
The woman, almost in shock, says "John Harwood, showing no mercy on this one!"
It just proves how news anchors are expected to be neutral, even with the most stupid of right wing, fabricated topics. These idiotic right wing talking points reach the main stream media and are somehow treated as if there is a legitimate "debatable" side to the story.
I got the same feeling the first time I watched Olbermann and actually saw someone critisizing the Bush Adm. Others have jumped on the band wagon now, but 6 years ago, not so much.
This is totally incredulous....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgcGlMyAg2g&eu...
For instance, my daughter is bright and politically astute for her age. I would have no problem with her listening to Jr. read "My Pet Goat" to her.
On the other hand, if you see your child as someone who is sheep-like and unable to think for themselves, and maybe not the brightest bulb in the pack, well then I guess you can't be too careful. Don't forget the old adage that says "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." If these parents are not "bad apples" they are at the very least "dumb apples" led by geniuses like Beck.
Good point, Rascal.
This is total ignorance, stupidity, and hate. It boggles the mind. I can't even understand why they are upset, much less crying like this stupid woman does.
It's unfortunate for their kids. They are being raised to be stupid; they are being raised not to think.
Unfortunately, they probably do that better than just about anything else.
It has been replaced by Survival of the dumbest. If you do not think we are dumbing down and devolving as a species, well then you are just not paying attention
..you're just too damn stupid to see it.
like the woman who was on cnn crying about the prez speaking to her children
dcfs should go over immediatly and remove the children...and she should have her tubes tied
The one that has now problem with the President and commander in chief speaking to school children.
Anyone wanna start a pool for when John Harwood will be forced to "walk it back?"
He's right on, but there's a penalty for that nowadays.
One thing I will bet on though is that he gets a lot of "stoopid" e-mails this week.
We all should send him an "atta-boy" e-mail to encourage truth in journalism.
...I recall a local politician telling me "It's helpful to hear I've done the right thing, God knows I hear when people disagree."
?
So I wrote CNBC programming and put his name on the subject line.
Thanks.
To be willfully ignorant is to be certifiably stupid.
I will be using that quote in the future.
Spread the news.
That I'm not as stupid as I look, but I'm close :^)
Right-wingers don't like education. Period. Most people with intellectual curiousity don't buy their fear-mongering, backwards bullshit.
Keep The People poor and stupid, that's always been one of their priorities.
Even more so with the GOP passing out stupid pills left and right and people gobbling them down like candy since Obama's election. I agree, this last thing with the issue of the speech to school children is simply over the edge. The MSM is right there, more than happy to give these fear mongers a voice. If President Obama does not get this spread of propaganda and misinformation by the GOP under control soon, the next thing we'll be seeing is calls for his resignation. President Obama, you really need to grow a spine and a set of testicles, or you aren't going to be President for very long. Maybe you could borrow Hillary's? Such a shame, I had so many hopes that he could get this country back on the right track. The Republicans no longer have a majority, but yet they are still being allowed to run things.
Now they're dragging the country down with them.
Muslim, Fascist, Communist, Anti Christ, Marxist, Not a citizen, child indoctrinating socialist. Geeezzzzz, where does it end?
It won't end until he's out of office. It simply won't end..
have been one of Obama's first things he did upon taking office, though, of course, that would have still had no effect on the cable 'thugs...
I saw an interview on DN! with Max Blumenthal -- (and also posted on C&L). Though it's laced with a fair amount of armchair psychology, his premise of his new book may be a good explanation of what's happening to the crazies in the Republican party.
As I understand him, Blumenthal contends that the Conservative Movement has morphed from Ideology into a Sensibility caused by the Christian Right hijacking the Republican Party. The power base of the Christian Right was built upon Personal Crisis and moving that pain into Political Resentment. Now that the fail policies of Conservatives have been exposed, Conservatives now only have the Sensibility or the Personal Crisis/Political Resentment slant of what constitutes the Conservative Movement. So you have angry, hurt, and emotional broken individuals with nothing logical to base their political views. These individuals just think they do.
To make matters worse, the Pols, TV Propagandists, and Church leaders who make a living off the crazy base know that if Government does succeed in fixing the problem (as in, health care), Conservatives would be out of a job. So it is in their best interest to make sure solutions never arrive and Crisis is always perpetuated. Max Blumenthal likened it to a Sadomasochistic revolving door.
The host is typical of the media in this country. She acts like it's all a game and just wants sound bites from the interview.
... but she's rich and has health care and is in no danger of going to war.
"..and let's face it, in a country of three hundred million people there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that's it's somehow unhealthy for kids for the President to say work hard and stay in school, you're stupid."
Novotny: "Ouch."
Ouch? Waddaya mean Ouch?
Anyone that fucking dumb deserves a good (verbal)kick in the ass.
It's one thing for the GOP to predictably pull this disgusting shit,but to be actually fooled by it?
Christ go back to school or something people because you nitwits are too stupid to live as things stand.You Bozos are actively enabling the complete corporate/hard right dismantling of your own country.
There are a Lot of Stupid People
Go figure. The veil of invisibility is lifted. Observe.
someone is talking about one of the inherent problems we have in our country – an extremely ill-informed electorate.
John Stuart Mill said (something like): “While it is true that not all conservative people are stupid, it is almost certainly true that most stupid people are conservative.”
I agree with that, and I have seen it for myself. My question is, why do we have to compromise with people who are stupid? Why do we have to take their concerns seriously? If they are so clearly wrong in their thinking, from their axioms and premises, through their logical constructs, all the way to their conclusions, then why is it so important that we do anything they want us to do? Is there a logical reason to do something entirely illogical?
The Republican Party is fighting hard to get the support of the stupider people in this country, and they are claiming that this support somehow legitimizes their viewpoint. Wrong is still wrong, no matter how many people insist it isn’t.
There’s the Right thing to do and the Wrong thing to do. And you don’t compromise with Wrong.
because you should know better. Stop doing what republicans do by changing the discussion. No one is upset about the message it is the venue. The children are captive audiences and there are moral and legal protocol regarding forced captive audiences.
Would you want the pope or GWB to be speaking to your children from a position of authority, in effect do an end around, to get to your minor children? Wait until they are voter age otherwise you are subverting the parent and propagandaizing children. Drop out of school like many effective and important people have done. Don't be assimilated. Respect your president my ass.
By your "children are captive audiences" standard, no teacher in the world would be able to teach without it somehow being propaganda.
If anyone is there to set an example, it's the president, be it for children or adults.
Since when is telling kids to stay in school and work hard "propaganda"?
Propaganda would be demonizing Liberals or Mexicans or Jews, the kind of shit you see on Fox News daily. Maybe it's good for the president to instill positive AMERICAN values in kids, to counter the propaganda they're getting at home.
just a little less ignorant.
You switched the argument so you can get what you want. I will respond to your specific arguments and maybe you'll do me the same courtesy.
There is NO teacher in the world that needs or should speak to every student. I can know the teacher in my specific class and can remove my child if I am uncomfortable. You see I have a choice.
You would NOT want GWB speaking to your children from a position of authority. He is an idiot and has no business forming any opinion in a young mind.
So unless you want the next GWB telling your kids the islamo's are gonna ge t you, you need to stop Obama from his propaganda campaign. Obey your govenor - they know BEST! They Mayor is ALWAYS right.
Propaganda does not have the severe limitations you put on it. Sorry, telling kids what is good for them is propaganda. You don't have to demonize anyone. Just glorify the leader.
Telling them to stay in school is propaganda, but even if you argument that it is true, is valid it is dangerous when it is true that islamo's are gonna get you. Since when is it bad to stay safe? Lame argument eh?
So we shouldn't listen to anybody in a position of authority, regardless of whether they are communicating positive messages ("work hard, stay in school") or misleading messages ("terr-ritsts er gonna gitcha")?
So when your mom says, "Don't touch that stove, it's hot," or your dad says, "Make sure you use a condom," because they are in a position of authority, we should ignore them because they're disseminating propaganda?
I think you're confusing education ("the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process") with propaganda ("the systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause").
You can believe that the stove isn't hot and your mother is simply indoctrinating you into the view that it is, but that doesn't make the stove cold.
Which probably goes a long way to explaining how Fox News viewers' minds work:
That "truth" has two sides and can be disputed, that any "learning" is the same as propaganda, that "smart ideas" coming out of a president's mouth are no better than stupid ideas.
Wow.
so the weak merits of your argyment does not show through. I will try again...
everytime you try to use a strawman arguement you are like a stoopid repub. I have NO problem with the message, That is not the point, so PLEASE STOP. Stove hot..yes I get it. My mother and father I trust and love. You president (OBAMA OR BUSH) I do not. So I should and do have the right to control whom speaks to my minor children.
I am not confused on the definition... From wikipedia
So unless OBAMA is going to speak about the drop out Einstein and Gates it is propaganda. Obama will be speaking to them not educating them.
The stove hot is a fact, ok. Good argument, but stay in school to be successful is NOT A FACT. It is a damned opinion of someone that is formed by the state. You think you can only learn in a school? of course not. Teachers are NOT the only ones whom teach. get it? I doubt it, because you are as honest as sean hannity. He would be using the same lame and strawman arguments if GWB was speaking to every US student. You would be crying like a bitch, don't bother lying otherwise. You are onesided and blind to honest reason, so....
BTW the Truth has one side. Idiots believe their side is truth because it is their side and they are not able to be objective and see the truth. So 1 side of truth is true and the other side is a mislabeled lie.
>"Would you want the pope or GWB to be speaking to your children from a position of authority"
They already did/do that. It's a 15 minute speech with optional teaching suggestions available that is about staying in school and studying hard.
WTF is your problem!?
When and where? The Pope spoke to the US educational system? NO George Bush spoke to the US Educational system of schools? NO
They may have spoke at a school or a group of schools. If you can't see the difference THAT would be WTF my problem is. Ignorance with ego.
When the next president Michele Bachman or some other dumb shit gets to tell you kids how important God is in their life and how if you are a good american you'll join the army to serve, etc, etc and as you shit your pants, just remember your lame arguments and how you LIKE the president talking to every child.
haha, can't think beyond your nose.
"The president shouldn't speak to kids."
People sit their kids in front of "Grand Theft Auto" and "The Sopranos" then complain about the President, one of the most respected men in the world, giving their kids a positive message.
The country is sick. And the cure is not to have a president who reads kids "My Pet Goat" and is absent when it comes to moral leadership.
I tell you, everytime I thinking of moving back to the USA, something like this makes my mind up for me. This is so fucking stupid, that it makes me mad. Screw 1984, Farenheit 451 is more representative of the USA right now. No, kids, don't work hard and study-- you can become rich and famous by doing fuck all-- a la American Idol and Who wants to Marry A Millionaire!
Some stupid, stupid bitch was on teevee crying about Obama speaking to her kids? When do I get the America I know and loved back?
How insane is it to watch people FIGHTING AGAINST getting the awesome healthcare I have abroad?
THAT'S power. When corporations are that powerful, that they can not only control the politicians, but control the media to the point where average people are left utterly brainwashed, that's power.
When people can elect, by a huge margin, a president who is the least beholden to corporations in history, yet still be crushed by the wall of propaganda.
The Chinese wish they had that kind of power over their population.
"When do I get the America I know and loved back?" Easy, when the FCC does its job. When the truthfulness of information is made more valuable than the advertising revenue or the profits of multinational conglomerates. In other words, don't hold your breath.
I was listening to Glenn Beck's show on Friday. I'm not proud of it, but I like to understand where the snakes are getting their venom. Anyway, the special guest host was saying Obama politicized the speech by asking the children to think of how they would help the President. The host asked, "How is this not telling the children to buy into his policies?" I had to laugh: I wish children were that engaged in politics! I saw the Obama comment as similar to JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." Anyway, according to Beck's show, the White House apologized for that part of the speech effectively giving the conservative blowhards credibility. This administration would do well to not acknowledge the wharrgarblers. Have some balls!
The question is, why are crazy stupid people being given so much attention and power? Stop allowing this. I'm furious, AND I'm deeply saddened that wack jobs are being allowed to dictate to the rest of us.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." -- George Carlin
Unfortunately, you can be very stupid and still turn on Fox or clear channel - and show-up to vote GOP.
I have been over here in Europe for the past 18+ yrs. Anyone that has done any extensive travelling or has lived abroad can easily tell you that there a huge difference in the average American educational system and systems from those of other developed countries.
I just can't understand this discussion about our President finally addressing a long overdue catastrophe in the making. Have you stupid Americans taken a long hard look at some of the top engineer, science and mathematician jobs being held in America these days? Perhaps, have you noticed that more and more of these positions aren't being held by Americans? If you took your heads out of your bloody arses - you just may have noticed that hospitals and medical offices, labs, research, engineering offices, top accounting firms, etc. etc. ... have a very large percentage of their personal in these prestigious and top firms filled with either people of colour or foreigners. Moreover, it is very evident that that percentage keeps growing each year. (I have nothing against people of colour or ethnicity; in fact, I also am a part of that group.) You may not note the change because you live among it every day but each year when I return to America for a visit ... the demographics of this trend in top held positions by foreign workers is dramatically evident to me. (I can speak their languages.)
Each and every year when the school year ends around here in Europe ... there are armies of head-hunters from top American firms knocking on doors recruiting foreign graduates with top incentives of 10 year visa contracts, free housing, free cars, top health insurance plans (just like that at "home"), etc. trying to lure them to move and stay in America.
Parents had better start asking themselves some long-overdue hard questions about the average American student and your educational system because compared to the rest of the world – it is NOT working. There is a real reason why foreigners have your jobs and there is a bigger reason why many high-end level jobs are either going to them or leaving America altogether and moving abroad.
So please try to explain to me like IF I were an average stupid American, "Why you don’t want the President to succeed on this (non-political) issue."
The more complex answer is, it's not just stupidity, it's the perfect storm of stupidity:
1) Americans don't value education. Starting salaries for teachers are a fraction of what they are abroad. The only teachers you attract are the ones who can't make more money doing something else, which most can.
2) Consolidation has gutted communities. The Walmartization of America has left kids who might have stayed in the community scrambling off to the business hubs in search of work (or in our case, other countries). This robs local communities of a generation of educated people.
3) The consolidation of media has also contributed greatly to the dumbing down of Americans. Between the retrenching of a generation of journalists and the replacement of news with opinion ("he said/she said"), people aren't as much UNeducated as they are MISeducated.
4) Lack of parental involvement. People are happy to let their kids drown in the malaise of technology, nourishing them with violent, demeaning video games and nursing them on banal TV shows.
5) Religion. People are taking their kids out of public schools and teaching them at home. And what they're teaching them is, the Bible. And that God wants you to make money.
The simple answer is greed, out of which the prior problems fall. Americans put money and material possessions before all else. Before having a clean place to live. Before helping people in their community. Before the health of their friends and family. And before their own children.
This is not the answer I was hoping for but it was incredibly enlightening ...
(Number 5 scares me the worst for very personal reasons. I found that to be exactly true in my own daughter living in the states with her four children. Here in Europe homeschooling would be impossible. When a child reaches 4 or 5th grade level here - that child along with their other studies had better have a real strong control of at least 2 other foreign languages and the basics down for Latin as well. The average parents teaching at home could never meet or have the time for meeting those types levels and standards.)
I guess we can almost say that America is in real trouble but we will not figure how much so for perhaps another 5 to 10 years. Perhaps, one day we will awaken to the foul reality and all look back on this day and say, "Remember when President Obama tried to do something about this?"
Congratulations on discovering my personal motto;
People are stupid.
100% on the head.
The fact of the matter is that these wingnuts are only a tiny fraction of the American people,They just happen to have the biggest mouths. You should really blame the MSM for giving a platform to these maniacs,But I suppose that showing these morons in all their glory means big ratings.
A lot of heat over nothing. Obama's enemies have been whipped into a frothy heap of madness by their own indoctinators, Limbaugh, Beck, etc.
Thanks for saying what all educated Americans know, that these Reslug terrorists are very stupid and ignorant.
Watches Fox? That is your dipshit demographic right there.
I have two points to make. First, these parents are admitting that their kids are too stupid to think critically about Obama's speech. They feel the need to shield their kids from reality because reality might influence them. Those kids are doomed to be future Fox News devotees with parents like that. Second, if some parents don't want their kids listening to Obama's speech are they equally afraid of a US history class that discusses liberal platform's like civil rights, the New Deal, and expanding the right to vote to all citizens?
What's so controversial about sending a message to stay in school anyway? I guess finishing school is a liberal agenda. That sure explains a lot.
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