Are Americans stupid?

Question

now don't get me wrong, i happen to love our over the water friends. but i do wonder sometimes, are they? with the amount of rubbish Bush says on a daily basis, it does make you wonder

Answer 1

Bush is an idiot... That however does not make every American an idiot... Only the ones who voted for him should be condemned to idiocy.

Answer 2

Bush may have actually won a legitimate majority the second time around, but he still wasn't anywhere near 100% per cent (and he may not have won at all if the Democrats had put forward someone with more charisma and ideas). So no, Americans are not all stupid just because of Bush.

Answer 3

No more so than any other country. I think more of our population is sheltered, ignorant (uninformed) and lacking a frame of reference in dealing with people from other countries than other cultures are though. Our country is HUGE and we only have two countries that touch boarders with us.

Most of our citizens will never travel to another country and will find it difficult empathizing with cultures that are alien to us. Almost all of our news deals with what is happening in America or what we are doing to the people who are not doing what our leaders tell us we want them to do.

We are not stupid we are just isolated and arrogant. We will lose our arrogance either through education (which is the painless way) or by screwing everything up so bad for everyone else that the entire world stands up and puts us in our place (which is what we are heading for).

Many of us are pushing for the former but it is an uphill battle I am not sure can be won before we muck the world up more and the latter happens.

Answer 4

I absolutely agree with where you're coming from - but having read lots of articles and chatted to other emailers - I think the Americans are basically a decent kind bunch of people. Around the coastal areas - they're more enlightened and intelligent..but once you get into "red neck" country guess it's a different ball game. They are probably very decent and friendly too but very unenlightened which for me would be quite a barrier. But no...don't judge a book by it's cover...although you could easily judge a "Bush" by it's cover! No...even Dubbya's got his heart in the right place (he's not thick....just lacking in real perspective and...OK...well....thick!

Answer 5

I assume YOU are not American. Anyway, part of the problem is that so many Americans have comfortable lives and will go along with anything that will ensure that continues. A larger factor is America's geographical isolation - many Americans are barely aware of cultures outside their own, which leads them to not making comparisons of their way with the way of neighbours (which might make them realize they lack something). Also because of the geographical isolation, they have been able to do anything they want in North America without affecting a neighbour (I'm in Canada, and we, like Mexico, simply have to endure living next to a people constantly in party mode). Add to this the power of capitalism, with its constant barrage of advertisements that make people WANT WANT WANT and you have a people largely brainwashed. They have their geniuses and their Greens and their artists, but they place at the very top of their society people with the most money. As a people they have been taught since birth that America is the freest and bestest place on the planet, that they have a destiny to make the whole world a better place - by force if necessary - by giving inferior cultures the benefit of their amazing capitalistic know-how. Don't get me wrong - I find them decent people in general and very creative, and we share a belief in freedom. But they have to shake the "We're Number One" attitude or they'll never grow, and will remain "stupid", as you put it.

Answer 6

First, NO all Americans are not stupid. I may not agree with Pres Bush on every decision or policy, but he's playing with the cards that's dealt him and is attempting to do at least SOMETHING to protect the country.

As you, if I had to pick a second home, It would be in the UK around the Swindon/Fairford area (spent 2 years there back in the 80's) I simply adore England!!

However, instead of name calling because you disagree with someone, remember Pres Bush was elected twice by a majority of the US population. I'll concede that many voted for him not becasue they thought he was the best candidate, but likely because the alternative candidate would have had us more socialist than FRANCE!!!!
Let's look at other perceptions from the UK.

1. I used to have a southern accent and I dated a girl in Fairford that asked me what was the biggest stream I'd ever jumped. (She thought all people in the south were EXACTLY like the DUKES OF HAZZARD and jumped creeks with their cars)

2. Another girl (from Burton-on-the Water) asked me how many chickens and pigs I had in my back yard. (Too much Beverly Hillbillies in her household I guess)

3. A young man at a pub asked me how many slaves my family owned. (I'll blame this one on the Ultra-Liberal BBC. The only shows broadcast about the US South were about slavery and racisim.)

Despite these instances, I still enjoyed my time in England and wish I could go back for a visit.

Is the American who thinks all Brits have bad teeth stupid????? Probably

IS the American who doesn't understand all the fuss over the Royal Family stupid?? Probably a little

Are Americans who saw the antics of one of your ministers on BIG BROTHER UK a few months ago wearing a leotard and spouting things like he's rooting for the insurgents and Al-Qadia to win stupid for thinking you've got some fruits in Parliment??? Aaahhh well, not totally. That guy may have been elected but I'll give the British people the benefit-of-the-doubt that he started acting like that after he was elected.

I'm sorry for ranting about what you probably expected to be a simple question to answer.

Here's my point..... just because you don't agree with someone doesn't make you right and the other wrong. Everyone's opinion is important even we disagree with each other.
Let's just try to be civil about it.

One final note.....I'm sure many in the UK were asking the same question about the US back in the late 1700's regarding declaring independence from the UK. The jury's still out but I think the US has already answered that question quite well over the last 200+ years.

Answer 7

Bush is a complete idiot. If only I could have voted in 2004, but I was only 15 then. Oh well . . .
But, I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder myself why he got voted back in. A lot of it has to do with the evangelical movement. They really believe the Republicans are the Party of God.
I'm a Christian, but I know better than that. In 2008 when I'm 19, I'm voting DEMOCRAT!
So please, don't let him be the epitome of what an American is in your mind. And please have mercy on Bush. The poor man can't help his lack of intelligence. He'll be out of office before you know it!

Answer 8

One Bush does not make a forest. There is a cross section just as over here. The problem is that they are very insular and are not told what is really happening outside their state, let alone their nation. But...it looks as if the penny has dropped,( or is it the dime?)in the recent elections.

Answer 9

the question is a generalisation and unfair, Americans like any other nation have there fair share of stupid people .I will agree though that a very great many Americans do not posses a passport and as a result have an narrow and insular view of the world and news stations like fox news with their very partisan reporting do not help to broaden their outlook.They could themselves do a lot to learn more about the world outside America and help do away with their negative image

Answer 10

ah, I love being a stupid American. No I agree he has tarnished our image globally lately. The war is not popular here in the states either but we support our troops overseas. It is going to be good to see what kind of impact having the Democrats with power in congress now. I'm going to be happy to see the "checks and balances" come into play again with our government.