"One thing I see the liberal writers saying over and over is, “Americans aren’t stupid.” I can’t believe that the pointy-heads who say that have ever been to America because, if they had, they’d realize that lots of Americans are, indeed, stupid. Deeply stupid."
Ich finde, an dieser Stelle muss man alle Energie aufwenden, NICHT denken, und stramm HOFFEN.
Um Himmels willen, hoffentlich geht das gut da drüben. Wenn die Chinesen sich schon öffentlich Sorgen machen (Sorgen, nicht Triumph oder Häme! SORGEN!!), dann ist es echt schlimmer. Noch schlimmer.
2008-10-01
Americans aren’t stupid.
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3 Kommentare:
:-)
Depends on what you mean by stupid, I guess. Like everyone, Americans are shrewd enough about things they really pay attention to. But we don't really pay attention to political issues, for the most part -- there's no cultural support for it; it's always ill-mannered to talk politics, in America -- and so politically we're very superficial, very childish. And we know pretty much nothing about history & geography, which doesn't help.
(Sorry to stay in English; my German has deteriorated so much that I don't trust myself to write intelligibly any more!)
Well, the americans I met when I was in the statese, weren't stupid at all. Not at all.
But as you say, they're not paying attention to things important to them and sometimes to the world. Hinterwäldler it's called in german (= living/coming from behind the woods).
The point is, that some of these people a ruining a structure important for everyone (I'm talking about the global financial system) for reasons that just stun me. And Mr. Bush is calling this rescue-operation (which was put together very hastily and certainly is not optimal) a BAILOUT. Smart move.
They talk about socialism instead. The irony is, that Wallstreet lived the predictions of Karl Marx about capitalism killing itself pretty acurately the last couple of years.
But in general, what I really don't get, is, why people don't understand, that these issues are vital to them. Really vital. I mean, like, serious...
Mr. Obama is preaching that all across the states and seems to go on the nerves of the people BY THINKING SERIOUSLY about SOLVING the problems.
I am sorry that I am so angry about this. But the way, the USA is behaving right now is beyond anything I could've imagined EVER.
Within eight years Mr. Bush managed to manouver the USA into a globally strategic and tactic situation that is of very little hope to be solved without medium to kingsize pain. And certainly not only for the USA. And that goes for every field of politics I can imagine. Somehow a masterpiece of bad politics.
I know, I'm acting really german here (serious and humorless etc.) but I really think the american public still isn't aware, what's at stake here.
And the american public is kept stupid by tv.
Somehow it's like the titanic. The band still plays on the sinking ship.
And powers like russia and china and the arab world are just waiting to fight about the prey. (Don't worry about the EU, they are too weak to move anywhere).
The gap between the (excellent) elites and the broad public in the USA is just too wide. And the elites are (obviously) never the majority. Which could lead to some pretty undemocratic suggestions, but SHOULD lead to better, deeper and better understandable information via the mass media and more intense involvement of people in the political process.
But I guess it's a bit late for that.
I wish I could say something funny about this. Nevermind.
I agree with everything you say, Gerd. My countrymen baffle me. It's not surprising that they don't understand the global consequences of their actions, though, because they're only dimly aware (and possibly don't quite believe) that there actually are other countries. It's difficult for people from educated countries to comprehend just how ignorant most of us are. Especially if you come here and spend time at some of our better universities, which could easily make you think you were dealing with a civilized nation.
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