America is breeding morons

[simcha]

Some people only have two brain cells. One is really busy trying to resuscitate the other one. Once it's done its job, then the other one must return the favor. Other than that, their brains don't have much energy left for any higher cognitive functioning.

 

[vince]

I think the dumbing down of America has been going on for a long time. I started school in the sixties and even then the kids and teachers in the schools had very little idea of the world outside their own town or state.
Example- we moved to the Wisconsin from western Canada when I was six. The first day of school our teacher had english/french dictionaries so they could talk to us! LOL. Mum had even met them the week before.
We met so many people who lived 200 miles from the border and thought Canada was just Lake Winnipeg and it was a good place to go fishing. My parents could not believe how uninformed the general public was. Not just about foreign countries.. they knew very little about neighboring states, or economics, or their own national history.

It's even worse now with rap and certain TV shows making stupid equal cool.
Every generation is going to get progressively more stupid and intellectually lazy. Stupid parents raise stupid kids IMHO.

Don't get me wrong, America has lots of clever, smart, creative people. It certainly does not have a monopoly on stupidity. But it seems to be on a slippery slope and it is very worrying, because the rest of the world really needs the U.S. to be a leader.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I think the works of Dr. Benjamin Spock had a great influence and lasting legacy in this regard, but not in the same way many of his critics claim.

His revolutionary concepts in raising children sold hundreds of thousands of books in the first couple of decades, and several millions of copies by the mid-1990s.

The problem? Many people who read his books implemented the easy stuff, modified the more challenging stuff, and disregarded the difficult stuff. And, of course, some of it was just off-base.

He taught that parents should rely more on instinct, should show more affection to children, should discipline rather than punish, and should be firm and consistent.

Too many people took that to mean that they should disregard whatever the pediatrician told them about general age guidelines (easy), show more affection (easy), set a few guidelines (not so easy), be best buddies rather than parents (bad and ineffective), and never punish or discipline.

Several generations later, too many children are being taught that they set the rules, there are no consequences, and you are never responsible for your own actions. That's a recipe for disaster, complete with sidebars and illustrations.

 

[Mr. Snakey]

I dont see Man as we know it hitting The Bell Curve anytime in the near future

 

[ital8]

I don't believe this only applies to America. I think it is just society going down the tubes. I also hear a lot about chavs in the U.K. who are causing a lot of problems. I think we just live in an age when no one takes accountability for their own actions. Everyone plays the victim role, and points the fingers at someone else. Also, everyone believes that they are entitled to everything. I shouldn't say this applies to everyone, but it's this mentality that creates this kind of blatant disregard for mankind.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I don't believe this only applies to America. I think it is just society going down the tubes. I also hear a lot about chavs in the U.K. who are causing a lot of problems. I think we just live in an age when no one takes accountability for their own actions. Everyone plays the victim role, and points the fingers at someone else. Also, everyone believes that they are entitled to everything. I shouldn't say this applies to everyone, but it's this mentality that creates this kind of blatant disregard for mankind.

Bingo.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

I dont see Man as we know it hitting The Bell Curve anytime in the near future

Well, we can't expect much from any society where half the population falls below median!

:smile:

 

[B_josiah852]

You've hit the nail on the head.

I don't believe this only applies to America. I think it is just society going down the tubes. I also hear a lot about chavs in the U.K. who are causing a lot of problems. I think we just live in an age when no one takes accountability for their own actions. Everyone plays the victim role, and points the fingers at someone else. Also, everyone believes that they are entitled to everything. I shouldn't say this applies to everyone, but it's this mentality that creates this kind of blatant disregard for mankind.

 

[Osiris]

I don't believe this only applies to America. I think it is just society going down the tubes. I also hear a lot about chavs in the U.K. who are causing a lot of problems. I think we just live in an age when no one takes accountability for their own actions. Everyone plays the victim role, and points the fingers at someone else. Also, everyone believes that they are entitled to everything. I shouldn't say this applies to everyone, but it's this mentality that creates this kind of blatant disregard for mankind.

If this were baseball, that would be a hit out of the ballpark and a Grand Slam Homer.

You are so right. It is everywhere. Like they say...

You can't fix stupid.

 

[deleted15807]

The 24 hr news cycle that plays itself out on cable television has done nothing but to anestize the American 'brain'. Lite cotton candy news that doesn't really involve any analysis is what sells. And the little minds eat it up and feel vindicated when plain talker Bush speaks and they can understand him.