What is it about America? Does America's education system just suck?

[The Grand Nudger]

WPT Player of the Year, by Season
The players earning WPT Player of the Year honors have been:
Season 1: Howard Lederer
Season 2: Erick Lindgren
Season 3: Daniel Negreanu
Season 4: Gavin Smith
Season 5: J. C. Tran
Season 6: Jonathan Little
Season 7: Bertrand Grospellier
Season 8: Faraz Jaka
Season 9: Andy Frankenberger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Poker_Tour

Tally up the American honorees. Good luck.

[Aegrus]

This is the world the people who are now adults in America grew up in:

[img][/img]

Hmmm. . .doesn't work. I'm trying to fix it. :/

--Edit- Fixed it

[Jaysyn]

Most Americans see America as the most important and only good thing in the world, due in large part because our history classes downplay the role of any other countries besides us in world history. (Russia, apparently, didn't win WWII, ancient China was never powerful, and the French didn't help us win our revolution, which totally wasn't just a bunch of greedy pinheads who wanted lower taxes than the European citizens had to pay. Seriously, it's passed off as a war for freedom, nevermind we were fighting for special privilege. And everyone just ignores that by the time we abolished slavery, most other European countries had already done away with it. History classes make it seem like we were the first ones to realize it was wrong- not damn near the last.) World history BEFORE America is barely discussed.

All I can say about this is that I had much, much better history teachers in rural north Florida than you did wherever you went.

[Jackalope]

You know it's kind of funny. The America some of you are talking about bears very little resemblance to where I live.

I'm not denying that there isn't ignorance and stupidity here in abundance, but it's a big diverse place - and perhaps you're tarring with an awfully broad brush.

[Minimalist]

For some reason many Americans take pride in their ignorance.

They call themselves "republicans."

[Doubting Thomas]

The majority of the "christians" here are not really all that religious. It's just a label they like to give themselves. They don't know anything about their religion and only go to church on easter. But boy do they think they know everything and are quick to tell your heathen ass you're going to hell!

I've noticed this, too. There are so many people who call themselves Christians and have a vague belief in God, but don't know jack squat about what Christianity is about, nor have they ever read the bible, nor ever go to church. But tell them that you're an atheist and they're all over you about how evil and immoral you are. For some reason the passively religious get really bent out of shape over anyone they see as "attacking" their religion, and atheists do this by simply existing.

Problem is that most of these people also buy into the "Christian nation" bullshit often claimed by the conservative right. They reason that, well, since God's name is on our money, we must be a Christian country.

I think sometimes the not-so-religious Christians are almost more frustrating than the in-your-face right wing bible bangers. Mainly since you know if they ever put any thought into it, they wouldn't be Christians.

[Faith No More]

I'm not denying that there isn't ignorance and stupidity here in abundance, but it's a big diverse place - and perhaps you're tarring with an awfully broad brush.

Remember that 40% of Americans believe in strict creationism.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/145286/four-a...onism.aspx

So yes, a lot of these statements have been broad generalizations, but they're not as overreaching as one would hope they would be.

[mediamogul]

Here in the UK theres almost noone who still believes in creationism, and the majority of young people are atheists.

If you go to church you just find it full of old and middle aged people, and some captive kids who are forced to go. I guess we're smarter than our parents generation.

What is it about America that so many people still believe in the virtually literal word of the Bible and are such strong Christians.

Do they actually teach kids science and evolution in American schools?

It makes me think either Americans are genetically stupider than other countries or their education system must be absolutely terrible.

America has had an extremely aggressive marketing campaign of religion. Plus our religion is inevitably wrapped up our politics which makes it even more difficult to seperate the two. There has been a huge upswing in the Right Wing movement in the last fifty years largely in reaction to the ideals and values of the 1960s. Republicans have coopted this "return to values" moral majority type movement to get people voting "values" when in reality they crystallized this vote to solidify their economic policies which strongly favor the rich and corporations. This is the trick they have used to get people in poor states to vote against their own economic interests based upon "values". So what we have is the richest and most highly connected group of white men in the world funneling their money and power into the christian agenda as a byproduct of their Republican/Right Wing vision for the world. The poverty created by the policies that these poor southern Christian folks vote into effect helps to ensure that they never get educated enough to ditch Christian thinking (studies show there is almost a direct correlation between religiosity, republican voting tendencies and poverty in the US). Win win for them. I think that's it in a nutshell.

[Aegrus]

Most Americans see America as the most important and only good thing in the world, due in large part because our history classes downplay the role of any other countries besides us in world history. (Russia, apparently, didn't win WWII, ancient China was never powerful, and the French didn't help us win our revolution, which totally wasn't just a bunch of greedy pinheads who wanted lower taxes than the European citizens had to pay. Seriously, it's passed off as a war for freedom, nevermind we were fighting for special privilege. And everyone just ignores that by the time we abolished slavery, most other European countries had already done away with it. History classes make it seem like we were the first ones to realize it was wrong- not damn near the last.) World history BEFORE America is barely discussed.

All I can say about this is that I had much, much better history teachers in rural north Florida than you did wherever you went.

I suppose I'm more of just talking about my crappy small town than the country in general. Wish I lived wherever you did.

[Anomalocaris]

It makes me think either Americans are genetically stupider than other countries or their education system must be absolutely terrible.

That's because you emptied the shallower side of your own gene pool here, you #$%^&*^*%$#!