Sponge Bob Square Pants is NOT the President of France!

Let me say at the outset that I am going to describe a problem that I DO NOT know the solution to. Additionally, I am as guilty as the next person of participating in the problem.

I recently say one of those "Man on the street" things that Jay Leno does. You know the ones I mean? Where he goes out on the street and asks random people, average Americans lets say, questions that they SHOULD know the answers to? Got the concept? Good.

The one I saw went like this:

Jay: "Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?"

Random American: "I don't know."
Jay: "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"
Same Random American: "Sponge Bob Square Pants!"

OUCH! Funny as heck but painful.

We're Americans! Wait no sense insulting our brothers and sisters to the north and south (they're Americans too). We're U.S. citizens, we don't have to know stuff.

Quick who is the President of France? If you answered "Who cares?" you are essentially correct but that is not the answer. If you answered "Pierre' something", you're close enough to probably get partial credit on your exam (please show your work). If you said "Nicolas Sarkozy" you would be absolutely right and I would say, "Where are you from and are you considering becoming an American citizen?"


It's true, as Americans we don't know much about the world outside of our continent. We don't have to. They all know us. But what we do know alot about is the United States. Really? We don't even know about things that we say are important to us. Let's take Christianity for example. heh heh

Question: "Name the 12 Apostles"
Answer: "Ah lets see. There's Matthew, Mark, Luke" B-E-E-P
Stop right there you've got two wrong already Neither Mark or Luke are correct.
Answer cont: "Okay. Matthew, John, Judas, ah .. er ..Doubting something ....."
That would be Thomas
Answer cont: "Yes, quite right, Thomas and er... lets see ... Doc, Bashful"
WAIT A COTTON PICKIN' MINUTE!!!

You say that is not fair. We are not a nation of RELIGION, we are a nation of LAWS!

Fair enough, name the Supreme Court Justices.
Answer: "Ah Clarence Thomas"
Well done put a check mark next to "sex scandal"
Answer: "Ah Ginsburg"
Yes go on....
Answer: "Diana Ross?"
No
Answer: " Kennedy, Doc, Bashful ......."

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Didn't he use that joke during the Apostle portion of our quiz?" and you would be right but I thought it was so amusing I used it again.

My point is that, although we excel at Pop Culture references, hardly any of the important stuff is common knowledge. Who are the members of NATO? What countries are represented on the United Nations Security Counsel? Who has veto power? How does a Bill become law? (well you probably know that last one thanks to the Children's Television Workshop production of Electric Company (hint - it starts out as a William))

I'm worried. I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy. A guy, I might add, that thinks of himself as pretty well informed. I had to look up most of the correct answers I provided in the previous paragraphs. Why is that?

I guess what I'm asking is this; Why don't we care? It's pretty clear that, overall, as a people we really don't care much. We are so ego-centric and so comfortable in our superiority that we can't grasp the importance of the political, social, religious, and economic realities of the greater world around us.

How can we expect Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the citizens of those countries to understand and embrace our point of view when we can't even find them on a map let alone describe their system of government?

I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how we foster an interest in the world around us or even an interest in the United States. Believe me it is a self interest. What happens in the world around us effects us every day. The economies of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have an impact on our lives here in the U.S. The social atmosphere around the world spills over onto this continent. The poverty, the starvation, the water supply of 3rd world nations matters, not just because of humanitarian reasons, but because of what should be our own self interest. A well fed, productive, content society does not rise up against it's neighbors. Plus it helps us to understand how the rest of the world perceives us.

The Taliban didn't spring up over night. The Soviet Union, after World War II didn't wake up and say "let's destroy democracy". I don't see how we can hope to change the way the world sees us if we can't even see us. Do you get what I mean? Hmmmmm I don't know.

So ........ what do you think? Is it hopeless? Do we need a foundation? A new administration? Is it a quick fix or are we doomed? I mean, the Roman Empire looked pretty good right up to the moment that it fell. Ditto the British Empire. Are we just gearing up to hand the reins over to the next empire? Which country will it be?

Answer: If you said China, move to the head of the class. (You can stay after and clean the erasers). 

"Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics."

That quote is from Mark Twain (I THINK) and it was never more true than today, especially as the political season heats up. I'm leery of another person's statistics, especially when they don't site their source. Statistics are a funny thing; they can make us believe almost anything. Take, for example, this gem from the 70's, "half of all marriages end in divorce". Not only is this not true today but it wasn't even true when it was originally quoted. In a particular year (sometime in the 70's, I forget exactly when) there were half as many divorces as there were marriages. Some news agency got ahold of that particular stat and said "Wow, that must mean that half of all marriages end in divorce", as if, for example, 2000 marriages occurred that year and 1000 of those couples got divorced in the very same year. Ridiculous of course. That particular stat doesn't take into account all of the marriages in the history of time. When you think about it, really think about it, the statistic is simply unbelievable on the face of it. Even so, people are still quoting it today. I've quoted it and I bet you've quoted it. Un-friggin-believable. When I'm taken in by a patently ridiculous statistic I feel particularly stupid. However, that stat is, I think, just a case of misinterpreting the data. I don't THINK the mis-information was intentional.

Here's one that is. A friend of mine recently posted this graph. Now the data may be true (I don't really know) but is it useful and does it give a true picture of a very real problem? No it does not. All this graph does is say "Republicans are bad; Democrats are good." Stupid and pointless and not just because Presidents have less control over debt than this graph would suggest. (PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT saying my friend is stupid. He is not. He is a thoughtful and intellegent man. I'm only saying the graph is pointless.) Why? Because as the debt increases in REAL dollars the increased portion becomes a smaller percentage of the total. Let me show you. During GWB's administration the National Debt went from 5.8 Trillion to 10 Trillion. That's an increase of just under 4 Trillion in 8 years. So far during BHO's administration the debt has gone from 10 Trillion to 14.7 Trillion, an increase of 4.7 Trillion in two years. By the way here's my source http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm and here http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np  Just in case I got the numbers wrong. My point is that, though possibly true, the graph doesn't tell a meaningful story. That is, of course, unless your story is "Republicans are bad and Democrats are good". As an aside, I don't personally care either way. I know that the House of Representatives controls the purse strings and, although a President has the influence of the "Bully Pulpit" he really doesn't have that much control. (The decisions made during the Regan administration are a completely different animal altogether and won't be dealt with here and now (though maybe later).

Here's what I'm saying; When you read a statistic think about what the person quoting it is trying to get you to believe. Their purpose is almost never altruistic.

As I use to tell me kids "That's a mighty big number [Missy] you might want to check that."

Grampa enters the 21st Century

They use to say, "Everyone has 1 book in them". Maybe that's true but perhaps in today's world they SHOULD say, "Everyone has 1 BLOG in them". At any rate, that's what I'm going to find out.

I have created this Blog in order to put in writing my thoughts, opinions, advice, and experiences in hopes that they will teach, inspire, or, frankly, just allow me an opportunity to vent.Essentially this Blog is for me; if you get something out of it then that's a bonus.

I want to say, up front, that I like to have my mind changed about things and, therefore, I welcome your comments, disagreements, and opinions. Obviously I welcome your support as well. Over the years I have changed my position on many topics. Whether this is a function of learning more, thinking more, or just getting older I'm not sure but I like the feeling of growth it gives me. So comment and persuade, argue and justify. I like it.