Super power my rear end

Perhaps now that ridiculous phrase will vanish from our ass kicking brains and we'll sink back into reality. A superpower who cant beat Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq? Three primitive countries (in our view)who are making us look like a bunch of strutting bullies desperate to hold on to our illusionary superiority.
As i never tire to explain to repukes, a country which mass produces ignorant louts who cant spell think read or write correctly, is well on its way to the rubbish heap of history.
Meanwhile India, Asia and, yes, the middle east, produce students who can think and debate and are aware of the world around them - the pen is mightier than the sword i believe is the appropriate comment to make here.
Oh and by the way, any of those students can tell you what the percentage of a certain number is WITHOUT using a calculator. And they can make change as well without waiting for some machine to tell them how much.

I was to Japan, and they did all that, and with a constant smile too.

And the difference, a cashier in Japan has more respect from everyone than a cashier in America.

In America, they are trained poorly, educated poorly, paid poorly and then made to feel guilty about being poor.

Heck, I would go to hell too if I was a cashier in America, I'm already loosing a few IQ points as a computer tech specialist in America.

PB

I understand (I think) your point.

Still, I do wonder if calling people who are the products (rather than the "manufacturers") of the US educational system "louts" betrays a certain elitism.

It is almost as though I hear you saying this:

The American educational system is, esepcially when compared to educational systems in other countries, an abysmal failure.

And the people who graduate from the American educational system deserve to be called "ignorant louts".

My own thoughts on that are, first, that it stigmatizes the victims of the educational system in this country, and second, that it is is bad politics to call the people who, despite having attended school in the USA, are still lacking in certain basic skills, "ignorant" or "louts".

I would not want someone to call me an "ignorant lout", and I would venture to guess neither would you. Especially if being an "ignorant lout" was not my fault.

Many of those "ignorant louts" will vote for someone. If they see the Democratic Party insulting them -- calling them "ignorant louts" -- which party do you think they might find more welcoming -- ours or the other party?

but you must admit that the majority of people graduating from high school are as ignorant as when they first began. When i say education i dont mean being able to read write or speak in a coherent fashion - i also mean the ability to think and debate clearly on a given subject. Apart from those lucky few who had either a good teacher or a family environment which encouraged education and thinking, the others are lost.
Listen to any interview or broadcast on tv or radio and notice the speech patterns. "You know"is the most commonly mentioned word. And what does that imply? An inability to e xpress themselves.
I only went to school till i was 15 and then left because it was boring me to tears. But i still read voraciously on any subject i could find and also travelled the world (on about 2 dollars a day at that time 1971) to satisfy my curiosity.

but...
The reason these small "primitive" countries aren't being taken down faster and more efficiently is that the US has made an effort (less so now than in previous administrations) not to totally bomb these countries into submission.

Yeah, we cause a lot of damage and killed a lot of civilians, but our military is capable of so much more... unfortunately.

Perhaps now that ridiculous phrase will vanish from our ass kicking brains and we'll sink back into reality. A superpower who cant beat Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq? Three primitive countries (in our view)who are making us look like a bunch of strutting bullies desperate to hold on to our illusionary superiority.

The US toppled the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq... in other words, we did beat them. And there wasn't anyone in Somalia to beat... that's kind of why we were there; to establish a government.

As i never tire to explain to repukes, a country which mass produces ignorant louts who cant spell think read or write correctly, is well on its way to the rubbish heap of history.
Meanwhile India, Asia and, yes, the middle east, produce students who can think and debate and are aware of the world around them - the pen is mightier than the sword i believe is the appropriate comment to make here.

The only reason that the US lags behind other nations in standardized tests is because we educate everyone, not just the most promising students.

Strategy worked good in nam'