<p>Wow, just wow. </p>
<p>[4th</a> of July, Should We Laugh Or Cry? | John Rubino | Safehaven.com](<a href=“http://www.safehaven.com/article/30349/4th-of-july-should-we-laugh-or-cry]4th”>http://www.safehaven.com/article/30349/4th-of-july-should-we-laugh-or-cry)</p>
<p>This really isn’t news. Most people couldn’t name the Vice President, what century World War I was fought in, who fought in the Civil War, etc. This is our new reality.</p>
<p>I dunno. I am always suspicious of these videos that are taken to show how stupid Americans are. People often get nervous in front of cameras, they will say anything agreeable to get away, many weren’t really listening, and some were obviously wasted. Plus, you don’t know how many people he interviewed to get this video clip. The interviewer shut down anyone who seemed to know what was going on. I say, meh.</p>
<p>busdriver11: Ask ten random people what’s the name of the Vice President, what century World War I was fought in, and who fought in the Civil War. I bet you less than half will know the correct answers. I’m always appalled when I talk to people and they don’t know common things.</p>
<p>^what busdriver said.</p>
<p>Qaz, the random people around here are very smart, They’d get those questions, easy.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would expect most parents of generally high performing students to get those questions right. This isn’t an average crowd here.</p>
<p>I actually meant here in my physical location, Seattle. Probably 99.9% of people on cc would get them correct.</p>
<p>I agree busdriver. I am always amazed at the random & detailed knowledge people have.
Those political questions are pretty basic.
Seattle is #13 in Amazons list of well read cities & we are 10 or 11 in numbers with college degrees.</p>
<p>Well that makes sense then. I’ve been to different places and I rarely talk to people who know things about current events. 2/3 people I talked to couldn’t even tell you who Nelson Mandela is. It’s sad, but I guess I’m just used to it. I need to move to Seattle. :)</p>
<p>I get my news from facebook - only kidding a little.
:o
For instance a friend has been keeping me up to date w protests in Turkey.
[?All</a> Taksim Projects Cancelled Including Barracks? - Bianet / English - Bianet](<a href=““All Taksim Projects Cancelled Including Barracks” - Yüce Yöney - english”>“All Taksim Projects Cancelled Including Barracks” - Yüce Yöney - english)</p>
<p>I dont know how anyone would escape knowing Mandela though- seriously?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>These are people ages 20-30 who I work with. Like I said, not surprised. If it’s not an athlete, actress, singer, etc. a lot of young people could care less. And yes I fall under that category and yes (based on experience) I’m stereotyping.</p>
<p>“I agree busdriver. I am always amazed at the random & detailed knowledge people have.
Those political questions are pretty basic.
Seattle is #13 in Amazons list of well read cities & we are 10 or 11 in numbers with college degrees.”</p>
<p>Did you ever see the college educated people on the show “Are you smarter than a 5th grader”.</p>
<p>I dont watch Tv- but I play *are you smarter than a 5th grader * on my iphone!</p>
<p>So, are you smarter than a 5th grader?</p>
<p>My APHuG class did a project like this after watching a video similar to this one. We all found that we had to interview large amounts of people to find a small amount who didn’t know a single thing. </p>
<p>These videos put a spotlight on the minority who are clueless. Nothing to be “appalled” about. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I’m not surprised. I mentioned to a colleague the other day that the supreme court ruling on DOMA would affect us next year and she asked me what that was. She’s a CPA with a degree in Finance from a top university. I was a little sad. </p>
<p>I agree with Busdriver though. Sure there are some who don’t know who the VP is or even Nelson Mandela, but the majority of the people I know can carry on an intelligent conversation. </p>
<p>I also remember my father, who is a neurologist, telling us about the questions he would ask an elderly patient to assess their grasp of reality. Things like the population of the U.S. He didn’t require the exact answer, but something reasonable. I laughed and told him to ask his teens sitting around the table. You wouldn’t believe some of the answers. Not everyone is into current events or history. He did, by the way, evaluate the questions he asked.</p>
<p>Periodically an article or film clip like the one cited in the OP makes the rounds. What’s sad, to me, is that apparently a significant number of people want to believe the worst about their fellow Americans/fellow human beings.</p>
<p>I don’t know a single person who would fail this test. So on this Independence Day, I call BS.</p>
<p>P.S. Someone should tell the clip host that “passerbyers” is not a word (see second clip).</p>
<p>Oh, so the host is the dummy here?</p>
<p>so the host "got’ some people to reveal their ignorance. he also called a woman a Mexican even after she told him she was an American. He was nasty in spirit and his agenda was clear. To me that’s worse.</p>