Are Americans Stupid? Or is the world jealous?

Curious.

Here are some quotes about Americans and peoples thinking that Americans are "stupid."

From "

Are Americans Stupid? - Statistics, Studies and Research
Dmitri June 9th, 2007

“American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.” This is an excerpt from an article by New York Times which did a study and survey of Americans to determine their awareness. Coming from a nation where half the schools do not teach the science of evolution, scientific outlook is discouraged and a lot of emphasis is laid on religious education, the results are hardly surprising."

So this article implies that Americans are ill-informed and religiously blinded.

Here is a YOUTUBE clip from CNN New Zealand...

www.youtube.com...

Wow. Us Americans sure are dumb.

Media pundit Bill Maher called Americans "Dumb Dogs" who only understand inflection and a rolled up newspaper"...You know, "BAD DOG. Off the couch."

Well, well, well.

I beg to differ. I believe that America is a very special place. Americans themselves are not special. We are not better then any other group of people. But America itself is very special.

Why do I say that? It comes from a quote from my father, Joseph Szulewski. He said, "In America you are allowed to make a mistake."

My father came from nothing. His parents were dirt poor Polish, Catholic immigrants who came through Ellis Island. They settled in Buffalo NY, started a farm and raised 11 children (Catholic, remember) to be very successful adults.

Were my fathers parents smarter then everyone else? Were they special? No. Both of them never got above a 3rd grade education. What was different was the land they came to.

America.

Here in America you can do something that few if any countries allow...Fail.

History is rife with examples of people who have failed in their home country only to flourish in this country. And it is because in America that we don't care about our ancestry, we care about our progeny.

Are you a single Mom? In many nations that will get you austricised. Possibly stoned to death. Here single Moms are held up as examples of fortitude and perseverance.

Did you declare bankruptcy? That is too bad. Get an apartment and a part time job. Get investors. Start all over. What is stopping you? Today it is the rare person who is not in financial stress.

Ever been in prison. Tough. You will need to work extra hard to earn peoples trust but you can be employed and working later that day.

Have you failed in your last two companies? Oh well. Here is a company called the TRUMP NETWORK. It was put together with the help of the greatest American example of self determination we have right now...Donald Trump.

American has more Noble Prizes then any other nation. America is still the nation the world looks to for leadership. I like to think that America is that annoying relative that the family ridicules because of their boorish behavior. But the family always goes to that guy because he is always there for everyone when they need help.

Are Americans smarter then everyone else on Earth. Hell no. But...

If the world needs a safe place when trouble arrives, either personal or political, they come here.

Be smart.

Create a business that you can pass on to your progeny. Be a good American. Or Frenchmen. Or Puerto Rican. Or whatever. Just remember that your failures are in the past.

Your future looks bright.

Originally posted by crmanager

Here in America you can do something that few if any countries allow...Fail.

Yes, and when you do you will be crushed under the heel of insurmountable debt and a system that works for the corporations, not the people.

Are you a single Mom? In many nations that will get you austricised. Possibly stoned to death. Here single Moms are held up as examples of fortitude and perseverance.

Same in Australia, Canada, Britain, Europe - pretty much every Western country and then some. America is by no means alone in this line of thinking.

Did you declare bankruptcy? That is too bad. Get an apartment and a part time job. Get investors. Start all over. What is stopping you? Today it is the rare person who is not in financial stress.

So very easy for someone who has a bank account to fall back on to say. Anybody that HAS NO MONEY can not be, by any measure of the stick, held accountable for not 'investing' or 'getting an apartment'. Your outlook is very naive.

Ever been in prison. Tough. You will need to work extra hard to earn peoples trust but you can be employed and working later that day.

1. What about the many people wrongfully convicted?

2. Again, it is extremely naive and somewhat alarming that you believe a convicted person who has just got out of jail can just up and get a job by that afternoon - maybe in "Fairyland" where everyone wears frilly pink dresses and dances around licking lollypops, but not in this world.

Have you failed in your last two companies? Oh well. Here is a company called the TRUMP NETWORK. It was put together with the help of the greatest American example of self determination we have right now...Donald Trump.

Wow, just wow. Using Donald Trump as an example - don't you think he didn't have millions stashed away in foreign accounts etc that he could use to get back on his feet? I don't see these poor unemployed people with those types of assets - or the contacts in the industries that Donald would have used to get going again.

So naive.......

American has more Noble Prizes then any other nation.

Yeah, when Nobel Prizes are given out to Presidents who start wars, and others who have only been in office for 10 minutes, then one starts to believe that the "Nobel Prize" is a little bit of a farce.

America is still the nation the world looks to for leadership.

Not any more mate, the banking debacle kinda woke a lot of people up.

I like to think that America is that annoying relative that the family ridicules because of their boorish behavior.

More like the overbearingly loud voice that is used to suppress others....

If the world needs a safe place when trouble arrives, either personal or political, they come here.

Not just to America - refugees are appearing in all countries around the world. We here in Australia deal with influxes coming from countries like Indonesia and Somalia. Please do not try to make out like America is the only place people flock to when they need refugee help - it's quite insulting to those many other countries that provide the same help to foreigners in large numbers.

reply to post by Kryties


You are nasty and bitter. Wow.

reply to post by crmanager


No, just being realistic mate, sorry if you took it any other way.

reply to post by Kryties


I am in total agreement with you and could not have put it better myself.



reply to post by crmanager

Originally posted by crmanager

America is still the nation the world looks to for leadership. I like to think that America is that annoying relative that the family ridicules because of their boorish behavior. But the family always goes to that guy because he is always there for everyone when they need help.

I do however find this bit particularly offensive and untrue. As Kryties pointed out in the above post, there are many countries that help others and are counted on for aid and support.

They just do it with less bravado.

Originally posted by tribewilder
reply to post by Kryties

 

I am in total agreement with you and could not have put it better myself.

reply to post by crmanager

 

Originally posted by crmanager

America is still the nation the world looks to for leadership. I like to think that America is that annoying relative that the family ridicules because of their boorish behavior. But the family always goes to that guy because he is always there for everyone when they need help.

I do however find this bit particularly offensive and untrue. As Kryties pointed out in the above post, there are many countries that help others and are counted on for aid and support.

They just do it with less bravado.

Or landing 4000 marines when disaster strikes. Like in Haiti.

reply to post by crmanager


1st off its a clip from Australia, and its got nothing to do with CNN, (kind of dumb of you to post that, lol)

And, not all yanks are dumb, yes, a lot are ignorant, but thats the kind of culture they have there. Its all about their education system and the lack of learning about anything outside the USA, but that doesnt make them dumb.

No Americans aren't stupid, such sweeping, derogatory statements only serve to keep us fighting with each other, i'm from the UK and there are just as many stupid people here! When are we gonna get off this nationalism BS?

There are 2 types of people in this world, those who fight for freedom and those who fight for power, this is the only meaningful division on earth.

reply to post by crmanager


Nobody is against America, and to be honest nobody needs America to protect them, anytime America enters a war is turns into a bloodshed and everyone regrets it happened, look at Vietnam and Afghanistan for example, the strongest military in the world cannot defeat a small group of rebels with outdated weapons

As i say, noone hates america, a few might, but people dont like it when America comes along and takes over, we are doing this and theres nothing you can do about it attitude.

Europe can look after itself thanks

reply to post by crmanager
The whole article stinks of bias yea they do those interviews and yes maybe there are a few who couldn't answer the questions but what they don't show you are the ones who did answer the questions correctly.Most of America is made up from peoples from all over the world so what are they really saying?

Are "Americans" stupid? Well... considering there is no country called "America" (America is a land mass consisting of two continents and many countries) yet most U.S. citizens wrongly call themselves "Americans" I'd have to say YES. On another note... using Trump as a example of how someone can pull themselves up by the boot straps? Really? You do know his dad was loaded right? If you really must use a Trump as an example, please use Fred, his pops...

reply to post by Kryties


I'm afraid your post speaks more about the degree to which you have swallowed nationalist propaganda than about today's reality in America.

Try telling this to the people in the Gulf of Mexico, and see what they think.

reply to post by wcitizen


Huh? Maybe its because I'm tired but your post makes absolutely no sense to me in the context of my post.

Please explain? (Aussies will get that one )

Double post

I'm really tired of hearing that are Americans are stupid, dumb, fat and a whole pile of other derogatory things that get bandied about.
I think it's just a reflection of the self hatred of those who think/say those kind of things.

I think the world has been jealous of Americas power but were too gutless to say it until the recent catastrophies that Americans have had to endure. It's called kicking a dog when it's down.
And it's very UGLY.

It's also usually done by Americas so called allies. The ones who will expect America to help them out when TSHTF. Hypocrits.

Many of us are tired of hearing 'America is best', 'America protects the world' - and it's this, IMO, which creates the problem. You guys may believe you are the best - most of the rest of the world doesn't - so you have a problem.

Originally posted by Flighty
I'm really tired of hearing that are Americans are stupid, dumb, fat and a whole pile of other derogatory things that get bandied about.
I think it's just a reflection of the self hatred of those who think/say those kind of things.

Except not everybody who is critical of America uses those terms or slanders - myself for one. I love it how we are blamed for generalising yet those doing the blaming are generalising us in the very same sentence.

It's hypocrisy at its finest.

I think the world has been jealous of Americas power but were too gutless to say it until the recent catastrophies that Americans have had to endure. It's called kicking a dog when it's down.
And it's very UGLY.

You are entitled to your opinion, just as I am entitled to tell you that you are wrong. It has nothing to do with jealousy. The only people saying that are Americans and personally I think its because you want us to be jealous.

It's also usually done by Americas so called allies. The ones who will expect America to help them out when TSHTF.

And when has any other allied country needed American help since we begged for it for years during WW2 and you finally entered when it was financially profitable for you to do so?

reply to post by Kryties


I'm Australian. So have no particular barrow to push. And I've noticed the absolute rubbish that people sprout about Americans. Like I said, we'd soon expect them to help us out if we get in trouble with our Asian neighbours of course. So yeah, hypocracy abounds.
And I didn't quote you, I added my own comments. So my first post wasn't in response to yours. Hope you didn't think I was just saying that in response to your post.

Originally posted by Flighty

And I didn't quote you, I added my own comments.

I didn't say you did, nor did I infer the comments were only directed at me. I took your comment as a blanket statement of all people who criticise America - whether that is because I am tired or because that is what it actually meant I do not know - but I responded to it thus.

My apologies if I got you wrong.

Originally posted by Haydn_17
reply to post by crmanager

 

Nobody is against America, and to be honest nobody needs America to protect them, anytime America enters a war is turns into a bloodshed and everyone regrets it happened, look at Vietnam and Afghanistan for example, the strongest military in the world cannot defeat a small group of rebels with outdated weapons

As i say, noone hates america, a few might, but people dont like it when America comes along and takes over, we are doing this and theres nothing you can do about it attitude.

Europe can look after itself thanks

I'm glad you feel that way, but if that were the case Germany would be a fair deal bigger around now, Brittan would have been rained down upon with more bombs than you can count, France would have been overrun, and rebuilt as part of Germany, those "small groups of rebells" (USSR) would have been dealt with quicker assuming New Germany and the US had cooperated more earlier on, or there may have been a 3 way cold war (and you thought Europe was having a hard time recovering than)... let your immagiination run wild

WWI was pretty rough too ehh? similar results?

And Even assuming you were able to win both world wars on your own you needed to borrow big from the US, the US also helped those it could that were being terrorized by the new superpower in the aria (Iron curtain prevented helping others), and the USSR was only held back from conquering our poor little developing nations by the US, would Europe have helped that?

Originally posted by Kryties

American has more Noble Prizes then any other nation.

Yeah, when Nobel Prizes are given out to Presidents who start wars, and others who have only been in office for 10 minutes, then one starts to believe that the "Nobel Prize" is a little bit of a farce.

America is still the nation the world looks to for leadership.

Not any more mate, the banking debacle kinda woke a lot of people up.

If the world needs a safe place when trouble arrives, either personal or political, they come here.

Not just to America - refugees are appearing in all countries around the world. We here in Australia deal with influxes coming from countries like Indonesia and Somalia. Please do not try to make out like America is the only place people flock to when they need refugee help - it's quite insulting to those many other countries that provide the same help to foreigners in large numbers.

edit on 2/12/2010 by Kryties because: (no reason given)

That first part dose sound like you are are just taking out your prejudices (or envy) off the US through looking down on the greater wealth of scientific advancements we have made, and shared with you. As for banking Europe was hit first (true it was a slightly different issue, but it only contributed to the global issue), and the US had theirs. I don't see how this makes the US any worse off relative to Europe. And lastly, why do you claim that the US is only one of many places that refuges turn when as a result of immigration US populations are rising, whereas European populations as a whole are a fair deal aged (lowering the number of working age citizens), and have a negative net population growth? (and keep in mind that this is with the US LIMITING it's intake of people) Now I'm not against Europe, and do respect many of it's nations, I just don't get why it's suddenly cool to make fun of America.