2007-07-12 07:51:45 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
To me it means that people accept sound bites on television as the means of educating themselves on who to vote for.
2007-07-12 07:55:17 · answer #1 · answered by Sean 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I realized the "dumbing down of America" had reached crisis proportions during the Presidential debates between George H.W. Bush (Sr.) and Bill Clinton.
Every question was answered in such a clownishly simplistic way that I felt like I was watching a debate directed at the mentally handicapped. I later read reports by linguistic analysts who determined that the debates were held at approximately the 6th grade level; meaning, the vocabulary used was appropriate for school children. Apparently, modern politicians are cautioned by their handlers against using words that will make them seem like intellectual snobs. Instead, what we get is absolute drivel, directed at people who want a simplified, Readers Digest view of the world.
The Dumbing Down of America is the lowered educational standards we've come to accept. Even though I considered my High School to be a fairly good one, it seems like our curriculum was nothing compared to that of Europe. I am now living in Prague, and the stark contrast between how we Americans learn a foreign language and how Europeans learn languages is embarrassing. One of my Czech teachers is.......... a high school student ! Even though he has never lived outside of the Czech Republic, his English is flawless. I thought my High School Spanish was good, but my level of fluency was nothing compared to the Europeans I have met.
The Dumbing Down of America is people getting their "information" from what amounts to MTV sound bites and Michael Moore movies. People now consider themselves instant experts on a whole range of subjects just from having watched a video or read an article.
2007-07-12 08:20:57 · answer #2 · answered by pachl@sbcglobal.net 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dumbing down America is the process of having educational standards that continue to diminish. The average high school graduate in this country reads on a 6th to 8th grade level. Our newspapers are written so that these typical graduates can read them and society follows the path of the least educated.
I once had a Resume for a highly technical field, that involved a great deal of post secondary education. When I took it to a professional resume service, they placed it in their analysis program and said it was written on a 17.2 grade level and that I needed to dumb it down to at most a 12th grade level. Logic was that the personnel department wasn't filled with the highly trained engineers that could understand the merits of the resume how it was written. Ya, we're dumbing down America!
2007-07-12 08:04:13 · answer #3 · answered by Jim 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It means to limit the available information on a subject to only that information which is non-threatening to the powers-that-be and to limit the education of the next generation by teaching them only how to pass tests and not how to seek answers or critically consider whether the information they are receiving is true. Thus, fewer and fewer people have the ability to question authority and more and more believe what they are told to believe. The obvious result, of course, is a population of drones, existing only to service the elite.
2007-07-12 08:14:07 · answer #4 · answered by DONALD D 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
1) Reducing political discourse to 30 second sound bites.
2) Using propaganda devices to blur the precise meaning of language.
3) Bait and switch: Talking about one thing and bringing information about a totally different thing to support youir position. Which may be merely an example of #2
4) Equating scientific evidence (eg.evolution) with opinion (eg. creationism/intelligent design).
5) willful ignorance: refusing to admit inconvenient facts.
2007-07-12 08:00:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not that Americans are "dumb." They're NOT. We are a very intelligent country. However, our public schools need much improvement. The problem is that Americans are TIRED. Tired of being called "dumb", tired of working and working, getting nowhere and barely being able to make ends meet. Americans are tired of being taken for granted by politicians and they're tired of being lied to by those same politicians. Americans aren't "dumb," they're frustrated at our political process and frustrated because they don't have more choices and they don't have politicians who share their values and have their best interests in mind!
2007-07-12 08:00:30 · answer #6 · answered by R H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just look at the pathetic pack of losers running for president this time around and you'll see what "dumbing down" means, not just to you or me, but to all of us!
2007-07-12 08:07:47 · answer #7 · answered by texasjewboy12 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Being given a list of presidential candidates that are bought and paid for by corporate America..........and then continuing to believe we still live in a democracy.
2007-07-12 08:26:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means things like PC classrooms that don't have a grading system because some children may feel inferior.
It means letting some children slide because to force them to learn may seem like some sort of discrimination.
2007-07-12 07:59:30 · answer #9 · answered by Philip McCrevice 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It means that We the Sheeple are being dumbed down by Fascism.
2007-07-12 07:58:09 · answer #10 · answered by Enigma 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋