10-05-2004, 01:52 PM
Hi,
I think Armin has a valid point even if he did express it with a touch of sarcasm.
What percentage of the American population speak a language other than English, read a magazine or newspaper not published in the USA, or have seen more of the world than '20 cities in five days'? Frankly, to dictate policies to the world, it would be nice if the dictators knew the first damned thing about the world. But in the case of the USA, that is *not* true of the bulk of the population and is almost true of this administration.
The ridicule implied in Armin's statement is well deserved, as any of the studies of education in industrial nations so well documents. We are indeed, overall, the red-neck nation whose bumper sticker is "My son beat up your honor student." The average American understands no better resolution of conflict than the 'Terminator' model. The fault is not with the people, but with an education system that has, for two generations, been failing more and more to educate. And with a 'big world' mentality in a globe that has shrunk to 90 minutes.
--Pete
I think Armin has a valid point even if he did express it with a touch of sarcasm.
What percentage of the American population speak a language other than English, read a magazine or newspaper not published in the USA, or have seen more of the world than '20 cities in five days'? Frankly, to dictate policies to the world, it would be nice if the dictators knew the first damned thing about the world. But in the case of the USA, that is *not* true of the bulk of the population and is almost true of this administration.
The ridicule implied in Armin's statement is well deserved, as any of the studies of education in industrial nations so well documents. We are indeed, overall, the red-neck nation whose bumper sticker is "My son beat up your honor student." The average American understands no better resolution of conflict than the 'Terminator' model. The fault is not with the people, but with an education system that has, for two generations, been failing more and more to educate. And with a 'big world' mentality in a globe that has shrunk to 90 minutes.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?