This just in: Americans are obscenely stupid
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Crag Dweller
aka kindbudmaster
ErasureAcer said:
At least they don't make the kids do this anymore.
MrSardonic
The nerdiest nerd of all the nerds in nerdland
Dr_Cogent said:
And that's why I never said anything of the sort.
Dr_Cogent said:
Hence why I said "ignorance facilitates stupidity"
Dr_Cogent said:
Thanks for stating the obvious. It just happens to be that being ignorant of the mating rituals of a cactus fly is not quite as disastrous as being ignorant of the fundamental principles and freedoms upon which your society is based.
Dr_Cogent said:
No, just smarter than you.
gigamex said:
:lol :lol :lolPellham said:
Why shouldn't you call people obscenely stupid who clearly have no working idea of how their government works? The fact people just throw this out is "Oh, it's not that bad" just baffles me. These are VOTERS out there, trusted to know as much about various political matters as I do. I don't think the idea of registered voters being completely stupid is something we should just blow off and chalk up to GAF hate.Dr_Cogent said:
MrSardonic
The nerdiest nerd of all the nerds in nerdland
gigamex said:Actually I was targeting the other side with that one but if the shoe fits.
Yeah I was just joking, I've been wanting to use that picture for ages, I find it hilarious
Dr_Cogent said:
How can it be arrogant if it is the truth? You couldn't even understand my earlier post correctly, which is why you started implying that I didn't know the difference between ignorance and stupidity.
MrSardonic said:
A lot of Americans take their freedoms for granted but that doesnt make them stupid. Most know what their freedoms are just not the terminology behind it.
MrSardonic said:
You lump an entire populace into a "stupid" category. Ignorance and arrogance.... I bet you are great at parties. :lol
MrSardonic said:
I read your post just fine. Like I said, it's a shame that people aren't aware of their rights over here, but the same can be said of people the world over. I suppose we should just start a thread that says - This just in: The World is Stupid.
The thread title doesn't advance anything but bigotry and hate. People are ignorant of things, yipee. Thank you Inspector Clouseau.
My reply wasn't only directed at you, but most of the people in this thread. I'm sure there are things in this world you should be aware of, and are not, but I'm not about to come out and call you stupid because of it.
You people are overreacting over a ton. I could go on a myriad of things Europe needs to get their heads out of their asses on, but *gasp* I won't. I don't play the hate game like so many people here do.
Fact is, pop culture is put in peoples faces far more than Constitutional stuff.
Secondly, this survey only involved 1000 people. That's small potatoes and a shitty sample if you ask me.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I agree with Razoric that people simply take the freedoms for granted. The vast majority of Americans go through life speaking, assembling, and worshipping with no government interference. Also, organizations like the ACLU exist for the sole purpose of challenging any limitation whatsoever, even at the expense of trivializing things. So people simply don't consciously think about what the source of the freedom, or how it's worded exactly. They are blissfully ignorant, in a way, and don't appreciate it.
I don't like these poll results at all, but it's not a matter of how smart people are. It's just human nature and the priorities of our daily life, which could do with some reorganization.
I don't like these poll results at all, but it's not a matter of how smart people are. It's just human nature and the priorities of our daily life, which could do with some reorganization.
whytemyke said:
There is more than one way to interpret data. You do realize that if they had asked 1000 high school students (where most of us learn about the bill of rights) the results would have been very different, right? The fact that some people forget the exact wording of the first ammendment does not mean they are stupid or uneducated. How many of us can name the first five presidents of the United States if we were put on the spot?
lexy said:
I'll go out on a limb and say it wouldn't have been so impressive even with high school students.
Both sides are mis-representing their cases a little.
Americans aren't exactly the most saavy when it comes to their government unfortunately is my perception living in this country and by just looking at voter turnout figures.
Knowing the constitution is not related to intelligence. It is probably related to apathy however which in the long run is just as bad.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
You can know your rights without knowing what Amendment they happen to be filed under.
If you asked people to name the freedoms granted to them by the Bill of Rights, I'm sure they'd name most of them (including all of the ones in the First Amendment).
If you asked people to name the freedoms granted to them by the Bill of Rights, I'm sure they'd name most of them (including all of the ones in the First Amendment).
...yeah. forget I said anything. I'm not gonna teach polling statistics to someone on the internet.Dr_Cogent said:
Well first off you have to go by the percentage of error here. You know, since you actually have studied polling before, that the 3% margin of error is there for a reason, as, mathematically that's the spread of variation that can come in a group of 1000 with answers as direct as this. Simply put, 1000 people polled in this manner is generally far more reliable than anything that the white house puts out for polling, more reliable than news organizations and nearly as reliable as something Zogby would do. So while it's fair to say that this wasn't polled across a proper locale, which is fine, then we'd have to call into question every single poll ever done with any variation of 3% or higher.lexy said:
To your second point, there's a difference between living, breathing rights enumerated in the first amendment and knowing the first five presidents (washington, madison, jefferson, adams, jackson... i believe... adams could be wrong. he might have been sixth) from a historical perspective. Knowing your rights is something that is applicable every day to every person living in this country, whether it's eating your cereal and knowing the laws that went into what you eat or being able to travel the roads freely on your way to work. The importance of knowing your rights like this are so astronomically more important to american lifestyle than history that I really can't believe you'd compare these two topics.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
Flynn said:
I firmly believe that if the question was "state the freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights," all of the First Amendment's rights would be named (along with a good portion of the others).
The survey was broken. Rather than asking to name 5 characters that are on every night, they should have asked which season it was where Kang and Kodos ran for President. That's a better match for the Constitutional question.
MrSardonic
The nerdiest nerd of all the nerds in nerdland
Razoric said:
I didn't say it did. But it is debatable. If you don't know your rights then you are ignorant, but if you just assume they will always be there, then there would be a case for claims that you are expressing your stupidity.
Razoric said:
And once again, I didn't say that. It is blindly obvious that you cannot generalise any population, social group etc along those lines. The reality is that everyone has the capacity to be stupid or intelligent in different contexts
Dr_Cogent said:
Which is actually exactly what I said. Maybe people could claim that it wouldn't matter if you didn't know your rights, if the people you voted into power actually protected your rights (which hundreds of millions have died to protect in the past) rather than eroding and exploiting them to further their own agenda and personal gain.
whytemyke said:
whytemyke said:
Good, because I don't need the lesson. I'm well aware of statistics and how they can be used and abused.
MrSardonic said:
It matters to know them, I agree. The thing is, it doesn't seem to matter who is elected anyhow. I don't believe one single politician is interested in our rights. Every single one of them is interested in gaining power and exploiting said power - and our rights don't matter. They will only do enough to get themselves re-elected. I don't believe Republicans or Democrats care about anyones rights. They just care about their personal ideology and agenda.
Slightly related....
Marge: Mmm! No! (pulls gun from Homer) No one's using this gun! The TV said you're 58 percent more likely to shoot a family member than an intruder!
Homer: TV said that . . . ? But I have to have a gun! It's in the Constitution!
Lisa: Dad! The Second Amendment is just a remnant from revolutionary days. It has no meaning today!
Homer: You couldn't be more wrong, Lisa. If I didn't have this gun, the king of England could just walk in here anytime he wants and start shoving you around. (pushing Lisa) Do you want that? (pushing her harder) Huh? Do you?
Lisa: (quietly indignant) No . . .
Homer: All right, then.
Marge: Mmm! No! (pulls gun from Homer) No one's using this gun! The TV said you're 58 percent more likely to shoot a family member than an intruder!
Homer: TV said that . . . ? But I have to have a gun! It's in the Constitution!
Lisa: Dad! The Second Amendment is just a remnant from revolutionary days. It has no meaning today!
Homer: You couldn't be more wrong, Lisa. If I didn't have this gun, the king of England could just walk in here anytime he wants and start shoving you around. (pushing Lisa) Do you want that? (pushing her harder) Huh? Do you?
Lisa: (quietly indignant) No . . .
Homer: All right, then.
Dr_Cogent said:
Well I only posted it just because I thought it was funny
No real deeper meaning or intention there.Do I personally believe it?........Probably as I think everybody running around with guns is very dangerous in this country.
Do I think it should be ammended and removed. Probably not.
Do I think there should be somewhat stict gun control for the extreme weapons out there. Yes.
<nu>faust said:
That article said no such thing of course but I suppose your not being literal.
I don't know exactly what "mainstream" culture means but other than that factually you are correct in your measurements. Of course I also don't think that means Americans are the smartest beings on the planet which you stop one inch short of implying but then not everybody in this thread was saying Americans are idiots and the rest of the world are geniuses. In fact few were saying that.
For the record, to clear things up once and for all:
Not knowing what freedoms are provided to you through the first amendment = ignorant
Claiming that not knowing what freedoms are provided to you through the first amendment relates directly to your intelligence = stupid
Believing that the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum doesn't have a vested interest in claiming that people don't know about the freedoms provided to them through the first amendment = retarded
Not knowing what freedoms are provided to you through the first amendment = ignorant
Claiming that not knowing what freedoms are provided to you through the first amendment relates directly to your intelligence = stupid
Believing that the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum doesn't have a vested interest in claiming that people don't know about the freedoms provided to them through the first amendment = retarded
whytemyke said:
My point wasn't to equate history with knowing the details of the first ammendment. The point is that just because people can't recite the first ammendment on command doesn't mean that they are stupid.
Consider this example. Many people drive automobiles but very few actually know how an automobile engine works or how to repair it should it break down. Does this mean they are stupid?
iapetus said:
I thought that was clear from the get go... =\
iapetus said:
Weird. The gun control part of the joke wasn't even my intention although I can see where the confusion might lie. I was more interested in the bit about not knowing/excercising any constitutional right. People tend to glom on to the first and second ammendents to push an agenda but it wasn't what I was aiming for. Just the funny bit. :lol
lol i think you are taking my comment too seriously... i am not anyway implying that americans are the smartest human beings on earth or that there is a direct correlation between economic&political force and the intelligence(how do to quantify intelligence anyways!?) that citizens of a certain country posseses, i just wanted to point out how pointless of this "they dont know, their constition but they know simpons family members therefore americans must be stupid" argument by showing some other kind of statistical/sociological data.gigamex said:
Ubiquitous1
Member
Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.
This just in : Go fuck yourself.
MrSardonic
The nerdiest nerd of all the nerds in nerdland
Phranky said:
It's really the unelected Lords that have been the ones repeatedly defending the rights, freedoms and values that have been an integral part of public life and the legal process for hundreds of years. And even then...only just. Labour have a good majority of MPs and most are docile enough to vote in favour of the government every time just so that there isn't a headline saying that Labour lost a parliamentary vote. Labour have hardly ever had their legislation rejected
Elected MPs voted through shambolic "terror" laws that encompass anyone the state decides to brand "a terrorist", increased police powers beyond anything necessary simply because the police asked for them, and set in motion the introduction of compulsory ID cards in just the last few months alone. Let's not forget that the right to protest has also been eroded, restricted to certain areas and essentially requires police "permission"...and now there is a campaign to outlaw "glorification" of terrorism (the most subjective and historically specific kind of nonsense phrase Labour have come out with for years) and restrict freedom of speech in relation to religion.
<nu>faust said:
...which just happens to be totally incomparable to what the survey was doing.
Mac the KNife
Member
America may be going down the shitter, but it's still the best of what's left.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
Its like that survey that asked about if people approve the UAE owning the ports. The "NO" option had a racist comment.
Most Americans know the basic rights. Except maybe about the right to have a speedy trial or the other ones. The first four amendments are well known by the public so this poll doesn't mean shit to me.
Most Americans know the basic rights. Except maybe about the right to have a speedy trial or the other ones. The first four amendments are well known by the public so this poll doesn't mean shit to me.
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