Every now and then, we keep hearing information of polls which show just why Americans have frankly earned a reputation for being astonishingly ignorant, given that this is still for the moment the wealthiest and most advanced nation in the world. Indeed, Americans have "earned" a reputation for knowing next to nothing about countries outside of our precious American borders. Talk to some people here, and you can understand why. Far too many Americans literally feel like the world before the United States came around was hardly worth mentioning, and that now, the rest of the world should be thankful for this country, and for Americans.
We have elected a president who embodies both this ignorance and this arrogance, this false sense of entitlement. He demands that the rest of the world basically worship Americans. Recently, during the infamous Davos economic summit, .Trump spoke in a predominately German-speaking country about how thankful Europe should be for Americans, otherwise they would be speaking German right now. This is ignorance (and arrogance) on a not only astonishing level, but plain wrong on several levels, as well. After all, Americans and other allies launched the D-Day invasions to open the western front in Europe almost a year and a half after the Soviet Red Army had crushed the Germans at Stalingrad, which turned the tide of the war. Any halfway decent historical atlas, or history book, or perusing through period newspapers, would make that clear enough. The Germans were already in full retreat and being forcibly backed up to the borders of the Reich by that time. It was clear that Hitler and Nazi Germany was heading towards catastrophe. We know now that there was no secret weapon, that they were well on their way to defeat. So no, the Germans would not still be ruling over Europe right now, if not for Americans.
But I digress...
More than a decade ago - just before the political rise of Trump, in fact - there was a poll which illustrated the often astonishing ignorance that Americans have come to be known for among advanced nations. This poll showed that 12% of Americans polled thought that Joan of Arc was the wife of Noah, who built the Arc in the Bible.
Yikes.
Do we need further proof of how Trump's rise in the United States was possible to begin with?
Frankly, these kinds of things reveal astonishing levels of ignorance. And this is frankly inexcusable for a country as advanced as the United States has long been now. Especially since Americans so loudly and proudly claim to be the best country in the world, the "leaders of the free world." the "Shining city on the hill," and "last best hope for mankind," as well as "God's country." When you want to pat yourself on the back so damn much and so relentlessly, at least set your bar a bit higher, so that the rest of the world is not literally laughing at you, as they are these days.
Frankly, this is the reason why I for one do not believe, as many Americans do, that Trump is the problem, and if you remove him, all is good again. Trump reached the Oval Office for a reason. And while these kinds of headlines underscore just how someone like Trump could get so powerful, this level of ignorance not only seems to persist, but seems to be gaining momentum. I shudder to think of where this country might be in twenty of thirty years, if things don't change in a hurry.
Dark days.
Joan of Arc is NOT Noah's wife CBC Radio · Tapestry Posted: May 08, 2015 3:34 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 8, 2015
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/religion-and-horror-soul-mates-in-popular-culture-1.3065296/joan-of-arc-is-not-noah-s-wife-1.3065328
No comments:
Post a Comment