I would like to hear from all sides. This question pertains to all political parties out there. Why do Americans have to be so stupid on issues such as religion, abortion, health care, criminal justice and other kinds of stuff? Most of the people just seem way to uneducated on these topics. Fell free to add more topics if you would like.
But keep in mind, "Why are Americans so dumb?' Or if you disagree with me what makes you think that Americans are so intelligent?! Please post that as well!
Please no hate speech. Keep it clean.
2010-03-20T20:10:33Z
I spesified Americans! From the far left to the far right. And everything in between.
Anonymous2010-03-20T20:02:14Z
Favorite Answer
Because they are too lazy to go out and get the facts on their own so they spend all their time listening to demagogues like Limbaugh, and Beck and Hannity and only get the "information" that those people want them to hear.
In what way are Americans dumb on these issues? You need to point out specifics.
On religion there are many nations a LOT more dumb... America is actually very tolerant of different religions. Muslims, Hindus, Christians,Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists etc aren't shooting in the streets, setting off bombs or rampaging through towns in America.
Abortion... which ones are dumb? The ones who support it or oppose it? There's no consensus of opinion there.
Criminal justice... true the sheer number of people in prison is sad, but which other country has a better model you'd adopt? If you were accused of a serious crime, in what country would you want to stand trial? Should we dispense with human rights entirely like some nations where people simply disappear in the middle of the night for speaking out against the government?
Health care... for all the problems, America still has the best health-care facilities in the world, and for emergency medical service (like being in a car crash) at least you'll get treated. Going broke is often an unpleasant consequence, but that's another matter. Would you rather that emergency rooms not treat anyone whose ability to pay hasn't been confirmed? If there's a national health care system, what about people visiting from other countries? Sometimes accident or crime victims don't have identification.
Americans are not dumb, they are ignorant. Granted, some are more educated or less educated than others but many choose to be ignorant about their country and the world they inhabit. We are all educated in some areas and uneducated in others. However, we are all ignorant to some degree in the areas where we choose to be.
One of the things that contributes to this ignorance is the sheer misinformation and misrepresentation of facts presented by news outlets, particularly those on television. When objective journalism is no longer the purpose, only opinions and views pertaining to political ideologies remain. And opinions and views are not news. You are no longer allowing the viewer to make up their own mind. This liberal/conservative propaganda machine that has been unleashed since the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine is one of the reasons for this complete lack of objective journalism on television. There is no accountability anymore and because of this people no longer get the facts, they only get opinions. And because of this lack of accountability a news source (of any kind) can no longer be trusted and is always guilty of bias even if they strive for the accountability of yesteryear.
Another contributor to this ignorance is Americans are lazy. I am in my early 30s and have not met too many people of any age in my life who try very hard to educate themselves. Sure, they may have a high school diploma and a college degree but they cease to self-educate after they achieve higher education. In my opinion, this is one of the most important responsibilities ignored by most adults. A lack of self-education appears to lead people to trust opinions and views from their news sources without holding these sources accountable for the facts. Blind acceptance from these editorialized news sources is as bad as blind faith in a religion. Neither gives you facts, they just give you reassurances that comforts your own beliefs and/or values. Unless one self-educates regarding the facts/opinions/views that one is given you are allowing yourself to be open to deception. In the end, that is a choice an American makes.
Well your question is hateful and biased so how do you expect to have any real debate on your "question" here?
America is not dumb. Do you realize that not all Americans have the same beliefs on issues like religion and abortion, that's why they are called 'issues.'
It's amazing that in America those things can be issues and that we can talk about them and have nation-wide debates concerning them. That's why America is a free country. We have the ability to have our opinions and voices heard by the government.
America is far from perfect but that wasn't our founding fathers goal to create a perfect country, their goal was to create a democracy where people could live and worship as they choose to, and from where im sitting (in America) i see a free country. Not a perfect country, certainly not a country free from violence, prejudice, homelessness, or problems, but i see a country that is fixing those problems, that is constantly moving forward and adapting to the problems it faces. And through more than 200 years, America has stuck together and successfully created a free country and shows no signs of stopping or slowing down.
No hate speech? lmao really? Your question, as i said before, is hateful. Prepare to have some hateful answers. Don't ask such rude questions if you can't handle rude answers.
America is diverse, the people there hold many different views on all of those issues. It's like asking "Why are Europeans so dumb"- as if Austrians, Russians, British, Italians, Hungarians, Greeks and French all have the same views.
One thing which most Americans have in common is language.
Unlike Asia, Europe and Africa, America is extremely young. People often forget America as a political entity is less than 250 years old. Compare that to nations elsewhere in the world whose history goes back thousands of years.