PLEASE WATCH "Americans are NOT Stupid-With Subtitles"

Please watch “Americans are NOT stupid-WITH SUBTITLES” on youtube or on my page in the top right corner. I had to turn this video off, I was so ashamed to be an American. As much as I wanted this to be a joke, I knew it wasn't and most likely the Australian interviewer didn’t even have to spend that much time finding such ignorant Americans. Basically, this video sums up exactly why I’m writing about the public school system and why I felt like such an idiot while living abroad. For 6 months, I lived in Australia and went to a University where 50% of the students are from countries all over the globe. In those 6 months, I learned more about myself, my country, and the world than I had in 21 years living in the U.S.
Everyday I was surrounded by people from different nations, who were constantly discussing the U.S and issues around the world. Sadly, even as a college student at a top university, I was unable to contribute to the majority of conversations going on around me. Now this wasn't just something that happened during class, but something I experienced EVERYWHERE. Even at the pub, I found myself talking about politics, world hunger, and other important issues occurring everyday. I’m guessing, that many of you are thinking that they only talked to me in order to attack America, but that wasn't the case. I never was cornered or picked on just because I was American and none of these conversations were ever negatively directed towards me. Instead, I found that everywhere I went, people were talking about important issues and not just about what Britney Spears was wearing last night.
Now that I’ve said all this, please turn the video back on and watch the entire thing no matter how embarrassed, angry, or ashamed you feel and please try not to transfer your embarrassment to the fact that Australia is making fun of us. All those people out there that think it is pretty fucked up when they hear a foreigner making fun of Americans, this is why. This video is how they see us and you know what, I would make fun of us too.
So why are there hundreds of thousands of people all over the U.S, that are just as ignorant as the ones on the video and why was I amazed by the fact that people actually discuss politics regularly around the world? First off, these two questions are related, due to the fact that Americans’ lack of knowledge and concern with world affairs has led to our ignorance. Now there are many things that contribute to our stupidity, so I’ll just mention a few. First and most importantly, our school system does not motivate and or educate our children about what goes on outside our borders. Second, our NEWS IS NOT ACTUALLY NEWS, ITS ENTERTAINMENT. CNN and every other major news channel, make me sick when I watch stories about wedding cake makers and a dog that survived falling off a building during the NATIONAL NEWS broadcast. Yes, those were actually stories on CNN’s national news coverage, I’m not making it up. There is also the problem in this country with individualism and isolationism, that has led to a population of citizens who only care about themselves and don’t even listen to what is going on around them. Guess what, the world is all connected and an event in Africa could easily effect even the most isolated American. It really makes me sick when people blatantly show how little they care about the environment outside their small bubble. For instance, the other day I was at lunch and two of my friends bragged about how they weren't voting, just to piss off their Republican fathers. I’m curious how they made that connection, but more importantly, I’m really concerned that people are willingly giving up one of the fundamental rights of a democracy in order to piss off their fathers. How can we claim we are a free democracy when the majority of Americans don’t even vote and could care less about what’s going on in their country, even when it effects them.
Originally, I was going to write this blog on the dumbing down of Americans due to a lack of education, but I realized that unless we change our mindset, education will not make a difference. We must address the bigger problem, which is our individualistic take on life and our utter lack of concern with anything that does not directly affect us. This is an American problem and as much as people want to argue that the French, or British, or any other nationality is just as selfish and ignorant as us, THEY ARE NOT. Travel the world, talk to people, you’ll discover just how little you know when it comes to the bigger picture and how much more time people in other countries spend talking about it.