one thing i hate about you...

#1- get smart…please

This issue is number one not only because it’s one of the most important on the list but because getting it right is absolutely integral to achieving the other nine: Intelligence.  Simple concept and yet we are so far off the mark in this department that Highlights magazine is starting to seem like heavy reading.  Consider the following:

GEOGRAPHY

-1 in 5 Americans can’t identify the US on a map

-9 in 10 can’t find Afghanistan

-63% can’t find Iraq

-54% don’t know that Sudan is a country in Africa

-HALF of Americans aged 18-24 can’t find the state of New York on a map

-1/3 of Americans aged 18-24 can’t tell you which way “northwest” is on a map

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

-3 in 10 put the US population between 1-2 billion (it’s just under 300 million)

-74% think English is the most commonly spoken world language (it’s Mandarin)

-1/3 of Americans are unable to name even 1 of the 3 branches of government

-1 in 5 americans believe the sun revolves around the earth

SEMI-RETARDS ARE ADORABLE

-watch as Kellie Pickler tries cut through the cobwebs of her rotting brain and decide whether Budapest is a city, continent or insect control company

-Miss Teen South Carolina isn’t really sure why some Americans can’t locate the US on a map but thinks it may have something to do with a shortage of maps and/or The Iraq

Look, we can’t all be intellectuals in the classic sense of the word; PhD’s are still reserved for people with social disorders and/or trust funds.  However, what’s alarming about these and stacks of other statistics is the a) complete ignorance Americans have of the most basic civic, academic and general knowledge and b) the apparent lack of interest we show in gaining that knowledge.  You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. 

What’s even more confusing/comical is that we are in the midst of what many people refer to as the “Information Age”.  Access to information of every order has never been more readily and cheaply available.  Television, the Internet, movies, books, Perez Hilton and cell phones mean that the average American has a metric shit-ton of information at the tips of their fingers all day, every day.  It’s not clear what’s at the root of America’s seeming distaste for ‘knowing shit’ but what is clear is the toll it’s taking on our international image and national discourse. 

People think we’re stupid and, turns out- we are- from the statistics above, to the fact that we would rather have a President we could ‘have a beer’ with than one that can speak coherently, to our overall lack of interest in the world at large- we are slowly becoming a society of people that have no idea what the hell is going on.  That would be fine (even preferential) in a dictatorship; that kind of government doesn’t need smart people, just smart dictators with ruthless uniforms.  We, for better or worse, are blessed with a democracy and in order for that democracy to function, it requires that each of its citizens understand how our system works, willingly participate in it and be smarter than a 5^th grader. 

If we want universal health care, less gun violence, healthier food, equality, fair and functional government, etc etc then it is IMPERATIVE that the citizens of this country start tuning out the bullshit flying at us from our profoundly fucked up, profit driven, subjective, corporate media and the craptastic info-tainment it produces (really? Who cares what Miley Cyrus changed her goddamned name to.). And instead start reading, learning, seeking out knowledge, looking deeper into the world around us, asking questions and demanding that our government, our media and our people be smarter.  What have fallen asleep at the wheel and what we need is nothing short of a reawakening- to the world around us, to our leaders and to ourselves.  Feed your head.