• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

In light of recent events...

hakr100 said:
And what do you believe makes three quarters of the country's inhabitants "ignorant"?
Click to expand...

It's hard to define "ignorance" really. Ignorant of what, exactly?

However, here are some interesting items that might support the 75% figure.

Six out of 10 young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map - Americas, World - The Independent

A new survey shows young Americans have what can only be described as shoddy geography skills, with six out of 10 unable to locate Iraq on a map and almost half incapable of pointing to the state of Mississippi.
Click to expand...

The survey shows that, despite having invaded Iraq three years ago, six out of 10 Americans aged 18 to 24 cannot locate the country.
Click to expand...

The survey, carried out in December 2005, also found fewer than three in 10 think it is important to know the locations of countries in the news; only 14 per cent believe another language is a necessary skill; 47 per cent could not find India on a map and 75 per cent could not locate Israel.
Click to expand...

Ok, so Americans are pretty ignorant about world geography. Anything else?

Dumb Things Americans Believe - Newsweek

one fifth of Americans (mistakenly) believe that President Obama is a Muslim.
Click to expand...

Regarding Darwin's theory of natural selection:
39 percent of Americans believed in the theory. The good news: only a quarter said they didn't believe it; the remaining portion either didn't have an opinion or didn't answer. (Also, only 55 percent correctly linked Darwin's name with the theory.)
Click to expand...

21 percent of Americans believe there are real sorcerors, conjurers, and warlocks out there
Click to expand...

20 percent of Americans were still sure in 1999 that the sun revolved around the Earth.
Click to expand...

in a 2006 poll, more than three quarters of Americans could name at least two of the seven dwarfs, while not quite a quarter could name two members of the Supreme Court.
Click to expand...

Nine out of 10 can't find Afghanistan
Click to expand...
 
amlothi said:
Yes, the shooter pulled the trigger ( allegedly, innocent until proven guilty and all that).

It's certainly a stretch to say that the far right caused this tragedy. In that respect, the opinion piece I posted goes a bit further than I am comfortable with.

However, I thought the main point of the piece was worth discussing.

Whether you are left or right, R or D, it's really hard to ignore that the divisions in our country are growing.

Try to be objective and ask yourself, who is responsible for this?

I would argue that there are individuals (in politics, in the media, etc.) who are actively trying to incite hatred of the "other side" and split our country down the middle for their own benefit.

How do we stop it? When do we, as a people, stop listening to this BS?

I was hopeful that, after the recent elections, we would see the two sides coming together again - to work together. I was hoping we get more civilized discourse if they are forced to share power. That doesn't seem to be what is happening.

I used to vote republican. I voted for GWB the first time. After I saw what was becoming of our country, I started to shift to the left.

I consider myself in the middle, and I'll vote either way depending on what I believe is best for our country.

However, right now the Republicans are not doing anything to win me back.

All this talk about repealing the health care bill... you do realize there is NO chance of that happening right? There is no way you would ever get enough votes to override a presidential veto. You think Obama is going to sign off on repealing his own landmark achievement?

At best, the Republicans are doing nothing but wasting time, money, and energy on this. I wish they would put that effort into something else.


This kind of political posturing, regardless of which side is doing it, drives me nuts.

We have REAL problems in this country. When is someone going to DO something about them?

All I get is "talk talk talk fear fear fear burn burn burn". Meanwhile, there are people out there that are waiting for a solution from our government.


Greatest country on earth? *Scoff*
Click to expand...

yeah.... but no, he didn't bring up anything worth discussing. all he did was piss gas on an inferno. i didn't have to even read a small bit of it to see that he is just as hateful and bitter as any other leftist demagogue screaming "damn the right". in fact, he actually says, "damn you, it's your fault."

this "open letter" is nothing more than vitriolic blame-placing and does more to incite hate and violence than any poster with targets on it ever did. this guy wants to lay the blame for violence squarely on the shoulders of conservatives, and given his hateful, violent attitude, it's wholely hypocritical. it becomes even more absurd considering the political leanings of the person he's accusing "the right" of influencing. the fact that so many people are latched on to this theory like a pitbull on a labradoodle just shows me that US society as a whole has had a complete break with reality and become a nation of psychotics.
 
Aside from the media and endless political blogs, I think the country is less decisive now than many points in our history... we watch too much TV.

You watch TV you would think we're on the brink of civil war... go outside and interact with the people around you, chances the very subject of politics will rarely come up, and if it does 9 times out of 10 everyone ends up agreeing all politicians suck.
 
The problem here isn't the Republicans or the Democrats, it's the fact that we make the distinction.

First of all, there are people in every group in the entire world who are crazy. And there are people in every one of those same groups that are level-headed. So to sit here and say "liberals are bad" or "conservatives are bad" just shows how closed-minded our society has become, and that's sad.

Personally, I couldn't tell you if I was Republican or Democrat. I don't give a crap. I believe what I believe about certain topics. When it comes to voting, I listen to what the candidates have to say and I vote for will handle the important topics in the way that I think is best.

We are creating hatred and discrimination by sorting ourselves into seperate political groups. We are creating another avenue to judge people by. How many people instantly hate politicians just because they are with a certain party? How many people go to elections and vote for a particular party just because they are that party, without even bothering to find out what they stand for? This is the problem in our society. This is why our presidents have to be followed around by secret service men and travel in armored cars. This is why 9 year old girls die. Not people we have to worry about people from other countries coming after them, because people in our own country do. Because we are creating more discrimination and hatred. As if there wasn't enough of that in the world. We should have dropped the titles in high school, when the "jocks" hating the "nerds" caused enough issues. Now we have people running around with guns shooting people because they are liberal.

The saddest part about this is that after all was said and done, and the poor victims of this horrible crime were buried, people were still spewing hatred at each other.
 
Crude said:
The government isn't the solution, it's the problem.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I am not 100% sure what you mean Crude...

Do you mean that the current government is the problem and you say the Republicans are going to save the day? Then I don't agree with you sadly. Neither form will save the day actually.

Or on the other hand:

Do you mean all governments are untrustworthy and are destructive? Then yes I agree 20000% with your statement.

Let me explain.

Well... my opinion, is that ALL governments are untrustworthy

I am just trying to figure out why everyone in the USA keeps taking one side or the other and why some people love governments. Yes there are certain forms of government that I believe sort of work in practice.... but I will never in a billion gazzilion zillion years be 120% satisfied with any government ever...they are all dangerous.

There is NO form of government that is perfect because if there was... then the world would have no more bull dust to deal with.

Then everything would be 100% perfect but the world is faaaaar far far away from perfect, so then there is no flawless form of government... period. Humans have problems and therefore so governments. End of story.

All politicians are just scum in my opinion. Politicians want power for a reason... and it's not a good one at all.

And as most people (should) know...

***Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely***

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely

Power corrupts... it's as simple as 123 or the alphabet... a b c

Anywayz...

It's sad to see madness like this really it is.... i really wish the whole bloody world would just grow up and deal with real issues and stop bickering like 2 year olds.

I think the whole world needs an enema ASAP.

Enema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Governments will naturally lean towards social programs to solve issues. Social programs almost never work. While they are an immediate bandaid long term they become a black hole for money and taxes go up. That's why governments are more of a problem then the solution. I vote for the candidate that promised lower taxes, less social programs, more liberties and more personal responsibility....this is ALWAYS a republican or independent. Lately more independent then republicans.
 
ionekoa said:
yeah.... but no, he didn't bring up anything worth discussing. all he did was piss gas on an inferno. i didn't have to even read a small bit of it to see that he is just as hateful and bitter as any other leftist demagogue screaming "damn the right". in fact, he actually says, "damn you, it's your fault."

this "open letter" is nothing more than vitriolic blame-placing and does more to incite hate and violence than any poster with targets on it ever did. this guy wants to lay the blame for violence squarely on the shoulders of conservatives, and given his hateful, violent attitude, it's wholely hypocritical. it becomes even more absurd considering the political leanings of the person he's accusing "the right" of influencing. the fact that so many people are latched on to this theory like a pitbull on a labradoodle just shows me that US society as a whole has had a complete break with reality and become a nation of psychotics.
Click to expand...

qft Absolutely amazing.
 
Crude said:
William is severely disturbed individual who should probably be ordered to submit to the same psych evaluation the shooter should have seen. The sheriff knew of this guys behavior and did nothing....the liberal nut job he is. For that matter the shooter was NOT a conservative. We've established this a long time ago. And lastly no one is to blame here but the shooter himself.

Here's another opinion piece:
Click to expand...

Would that screed you reprinted here be by the same Peters nutcase who called for the execution of Gitmo detainees and the assassination of the wikileaks guy? If so, he and his rhetoric are part of the problem.
 
Peoplee are flawed, hence we have checks and balances in governments
unfortunately people are idiots and listen to lobbyists and their lap-dog politicians (not saying all politicians are in the pocket of oil/construction/gambling/alcho/cig lobbyists) instead of economists and vote in the wrong people

someone mentioned that you should do a test about whats happening in the world before being allowed vote, that sounds good
 
shadowninty said:
Peoplee are flawed, hence we have checks and balances in governments
unfortunately people are idiots and listen to lobbyists and their lap-dog politicians (not saying all politicians are in the pocket of oil/construction/gambling/alcho/cig lobbyists) instead of economists and vote in the wrong people

someone mentioned that you should do a test about whats happening in the world before being allowed vote, that sounds good
Click to expand...

Further, the few politicians that are not in someone's pocket are derided as "crazy" or "wacko" (Ron Paul)
 
amlothi said:
It's hard to define "ignorance" really. Ignorant of what, exactly?

However, here are some interesting items that might support the 75% figure.

Six out of 10 young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map - Americas, World - The Independent







Ok, so Americans are pretty ignorant about world geography. Anything else?

Dumb Things Americans Believe - Newsweek



Regarding Darwin's theory of natural selection:










CNN Poll: Only 42% Of Americans Believe Obama Is A Citizen, Only 23% Of Republicans at Pat Dollard



Well, it's no wonder that Americans were tops in the "ignorance" category in this poll:

Britons boring, French rude: poll - The Times of India



So what kind of things do Americans know?



That explains a lot...
Click to expand...
And Palin can see Russia from her back yard.
 
copestag said:
and a scary number of people believe Palin said this because they believe SNL is a valid source of news
Click to expand...


Well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjZW4z9zqqY

And here's what she said about her proximity to Russia - and it's completely out there that sending a trade mission to Russia or that the USAF flying out of Russia gave her foreign policy experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg

She might just as well have said what she was parodied to, even if she didn't specifically state that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom