How Ignorant Are We?

A great deal has been written about Americans' lack of knowledge about a wide range of topics, particularly our own history, the way government functions, world affairs and geography. And I've surely made my own snarky comments about friends who can name members of their favorite sporting team, list the stats of each team member, comment on the personal lives and history of each player, but can't name their elected officials on any level or indicate the last time they voted in other than a presidential election.

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When I found the following, I realized my friends might be in the majority:

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"About 1 in 4 Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half of Americans can name at least two members of the fictional cartoon family, according to a survey.

"The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just 1 in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms."

The comment was in reference to a new book by Rick Shenkman entitled Just How Stupid Are We? who goes on to describe stupidity:

Five defining characteristics of stupidity, it seems to me, are readily apparent. First, is sheer ignorance: Ignorance of critical facts about important events in the news, and ignorance of how our government functions and who's in charge. Second, is negligence: The disinclination to seek reliable sources of information about important news events. Third, is wooden-headedness, as the historian Barbara Tuchman defined it: The inclination to believe what we want to believe regardless of the facts. Fourth, is shortsightedness: The support of public policies that are mutually contradictory, or contrary to the country's long-term interests. Fifth, and finally, is a broad category I call bone-headedness, for want of a better name: The susceptibility to meaningless phrases, stereotypes, irrational biases, and simplistic diagnoses and solutions that play on our hopes and fears.

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The rest of the article is found on TomDispatch. An interesting read, especially in light of the kuffaw created by the recent Karl Rove misrepresentation of facts and what Americans are willing the believe (see NYT).