Are Americans *really* THIS stupid?

Question

When asked their favorite Founding Father, most picked Abraham Lincoln!

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070217055418AAXnyq0&r=w

David: That would be "you're" not "your" stupid. Thanks for proving my point!

Answer 1

Better than saying Bill Clinton. At least they recognized someone from another century, even if they were off by 87 years.

Answer 2

Not in the traditional sense is Lincoln a "Founding Father", but he is at least as much an architect of the nation today as Jefferson, Adams, Washington, etc. Learned scholars have said that the country went through a rebirth, a revolution, due to Lincoln's presidency. The change in thinking regarding slaves, the nation, the society, the economy all came about in the few short years he was in office. Without Lincoln at the helm during the Civil War, this country would be quite a bit different than it is today. For instance, we would have at least two different nations where there is one today, and some say that Texas might have broken off from the Confederacy to become its own nation again. And Arizona and New Mexico probably wouldn't exist as they do today. So yea, nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of Americans, but it's not that much of a stretch to think that Lincoln was a Founding Father of the United States, just not in 1776.

Answer 3

Sadly, The Education of the US is very bad, In my High School days the only subjects that was important to the Board was English, Math, Science, and Gym. History and other subjects are not important. I needed 8 Semesters of Math and 6 Semesters of Gym but only 3 Semesters of Social Science ( History, Civics, Geography, and Economy) If this country can't remember are own history, how can we judge Current Events from the past. Look at the boards, some don't remember Pearl Harbor

Answer 4

The US was founded and filled by immigrants intent on leaving the past behind and building themselves a better future, but this worthy ideal has ingrained itself into our culture in many ignoble ways.

In a horrified way, I enjoy the jaywalking segments. He's so good about not blaming teachers for failing these duds. I'm annoyed that it's cool that alot of kids can pull off some kind of charisma thing acting stupid or intentionally pushing away knowledge so that they really are ignorant.

It's hard to appreciate/have pride in your country if you don't know the basics about it. TV channels make it effortlessly entertaining to learn about it. Meanwhile the much maligned 21st century immigrant has to study hard to pass tests on the history of this country in order to become a citizen.

They are mistaken when they list Lincoln as a Founding Father because not one of them would think of Lincoln as cj jones130 did, making an excellent case for including Lincoln as a Latter Day Founding Father. I was really impressed by this answer.
My hat is humbly off to you, cj.

Answer 5

Yes.
You ever watch the "Jaywalking" bits on the Tonight Show?

People only retain knowledge that is useful for them. Living encyclopedias store all of that stuff in their heads for bragging rights & to impress. As well as just having a long memory for this stuff.

It's not just Americans, it's people period. All nations, all lands.

You really can't blame people for not really caring about the "Founding Fathers". We live in a land that doesn't live up to the standards the words were supposed to bring.
What America REALLY means is money. How to get it. Where to get it. How much to get.
THIS is what people will respond to, not old history book lessons.

John Lucas

Answer 6

Perhaps they are not exactly stupid. Could be that they are basically ignorant, with a very bad raising. They are programmed to watch TV, believing the idiocies presented there, and spend their time doing absurd things, like going to ball games, eating coca cola and drinking hamburgers.
Absolutely no interest to learn anything, unless it gives MONEY

Answer 7

There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity. Not all Americans are stupid, nor are they all ignorant. But considering the terrible state of American education, it's not unusual to find that large numbers of people are ignorant about facts that should be pretty basic.

Answer 8

I'm American, I would NEVER have said Abraham Lincoln! I think you just had the misfortune to receive answers from a bunch of monkeys.

Answer 9

Some of them must be, especially the younger ones. Our education system is just completely out of whack that the students are lucky to learn the basics to survive in the real world.

But, then there are some idiots out there.

Answer 10

Americans spend a great deal of time watching television. This does several things. It decreases the amount of time they spend reading, it numbs the critical faculties and it creates the habit of expecting quick, easy resolutions to complex problems.