Opinion: Why Are Americans Ignorant of the World?

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Why are ignorant of

By Tim Coogan Gavel Media Staff

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what happened? Can all of us name our governor, our senators, or our congressmen? We as Americans pride ourselves on our political freedom but only 57.5 percent of the eligible voting population actually voted in the 2012 presidential election. If our culture of national ignorance is going to change then we need to start on the home front by stressing the importance of United States politics.

Not only are Americans politically ignorant, but we also do not prioritize education as a whole. The United States ranks 17th in developed world countries for overall educational achievement. I’m not suggesting that

we are incompetent as a nation-- after all, we continue to lead the world in both political affairs and technological innovation. However, if we do not put a greater stress on education then, to the outside world, we will continue to appear ignorant.

It’s not entirely the average citizen’s fault. The major corporations, that own the news industry, feed us entertainment over serious news because entertainment attracts more viewers, and hence produces greater profits. The news stations opt to broadcast stories about Kim Kardashian, “amazing” pets and sex scandals.

Entertainment is good for entertainPhoto courtesy of Timemagazine.com

Americans are ignorant of international affairs. In comparison to citizens of other developed, first world nations Americans are less aware of what is going on outside our country. I’m generalizing a little bit, but American ignorance is evident, and largely perceivedas arrogance by the outside world.

After living with two international students from Latin America this year, I’ve realized that I have a lot to learn about world politics. One of my roommates is from Venezuela, a country that just lost its president, Hugo Chavez.

Before living with him, I only had a basic idea of how this socialist president had affected the country and it’s people. Living with a Venezuelan roommate, I became more aware of the political happenings of another nation.

This experience made me question my awareness of the world outside the United States. If I, a student at a top 30 university, am unaware, many others must be too.

Back in December, there was a lot of talk about the fiscal cliff. However, how many people can truly explain

Top Photos courtesy of Lamina/flickr

April 2013

Americans theWorld? ment’s sake, but major news networks have a an obligation to give us the important information over other trivial matters.

Now you may be asking, “Well, doesn’t this occur with news all over the world?” The answer is no. Time Magazine has even published separate covers of the United States’ magazine and the rest of the world’s magazine. While the rest of the world reads about Islam, Americans read soft news articles about gender roles. We continue to become more ignorant as the rest of the world continues to become informed.

Unfortunately this ignorance is often translated into arrogance. My other roommate, from the Dominican Republic, Edward Ghattas CSOM ’16, said, “I think that most Americans are not necessarily seen as ignorant in political matters, per se.” Ghattas explains, “The common idea among people from Latin America at least is that Americans tend to have a sort of arrogance towards their approach to political matters. This arrogance might be due to a deep-rooted nationalism or because of their belief www.bcgavel.com

that they are completely right but the point is this matter makes them seem ignorant.”

When we only focus on ourselves, it makes it seem as if the rest of the world does not matter. To outsiders this is perceived less as ignorance and more as arrogance. Foreigners might not take into consideration that some Americans are clueless about all politics and instead mistakenly believe that Americans opt to dismiss the importance of international affairs. The American public, then unaware, supports foreign relations issues with knowledge from the US government, without considering the ramifications for other countries.

I’m also not saying that we should suck up to Europe or other developed nations so that they like us. It isn’t middle school and we aren’t trying to sit at the popular table. However, if we are more informed as a nation, we can make better decisions and have a better global image. A positive international image isn’t for others though, it’s so other nations will want to ally and cooperate with us when we need them.

It is also possible that we appear closedminded to some outsiders due to some of our legislation. We are one of the few developed countries to not have some form of universal healthcare. Healthcare should be a basic human right, especially in a country that claims to lead the free world, as it is in numerous other countries.

Additionally, while gay marriage is increasingly legalized in the United States, it is still not nation-wide. A nation that claims to be founded on equality and justice is denying a basic human right to its citizens. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage or other forms of same-sex partnership have already been enacted in a large portion of developed nations in the Americas, Europe and even Africa.

If we take into consideration the state of the US in comparison to the rest of the world and become more knowledgeable, we can rid ourselves of this ignorance and arrogance. We live in a global society and we should be aware of what is going on in it.

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