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Edwynn -> RE: Ok, Israel, whos'e next ? (11/26/2010 2:50:57 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: hertz
quote:
ORIGINAL: Edwynn
That could well be, but I was puzzled as to an interpretation that held this view to be some product of US history, or as a manifestation of world outlook limited only to that. It is certainly not anything widespread amongst the general populace here, that I am aware of.
You are not aware of the stereotype that suggests the average US citizen knows next to nothing about the geopolitics of the rest of the world, or world history? That's what I thought I was seeing.
Of course, I and most other US citizens are well aware of the stereotype thanks to you and a relatively few other British that promote and demonstrate it repeatedly on forums (or fora).
What I've not seen to this point however was the particular case of claiming that Pakistan "stole" part of the Kashmir region from India was another item in some uniquely US American bag of geopolitical ignorance, and in any case whatever level of awareness that would consider that conflict at all, however wrong the assessment of it by your estimation, would seem to contradict the stereotype. In any event, ignoring that particular contradiction for the moment, puzzlement yet prevails because I was not aware that taking that side of the issue was anything widespread amoungst US geopolitical estimation of things, nor that such view was unique to the US overall view of world affairs.
All that aside, I'm not sure why you take as gauge of overall geopolitical awareness of a country the sentiments of the "average" citizen. I've never deluded myself that the "average citizen" of any country best represents meaningful awareness of much of anything. You also sometimes seem to use sentiments of the more blatantly ignorant (which I'd think we're both aware are often very loud) rather than average, but I could be mistaken there.
If your stereotype seems to be a bit convenient, oversimplified, and facile at times, I should also tell you that on this side of it our education system and our media have been working very hard these last ten years or so to dumb down the citizenry as much as possible, and the discrepancy between the stereotype and the reality narrows year by year, but only as regards the "average" citizenry, not those who retain their own good sense in spite of all the countervailing efforts.
But don't blame us for what we can't control, unless you are of the same delusion that many Americans are that voting actually changes anything of significance, and please don't take anything our idiotic media say as having anything to do with reality, especially as any representation of what thinking people think.
As you are now having large demonstrations and a few small riots over the tuition increases in the UK, in the US many hundreds of elementary (primary) schools have been permanently shuttered these last 2 years, many teacher layoffs, etc.
It's not going to get better anytime soon.
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