Are you smarter than a 5th grader or Kellie Pickler?

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2-17-2008 @ 4:26PM

Eva said...

"An educated citizenry would be better for all of us, and an embarrisingly large percentage of Americans have a sub-standard knowledge of the rest of the world."

David, I completely agree. I just don't think it's an America-specific problem, and treating it as such seems to give the rest of us a license to sit back and gloat when we're really not much better.

Almost none of the British post-graduates I lived with in the UK had any idea that their Queen was also still the Queen of Canada, New Zealand and Australia (plus a whole whack of tiny island nations). Most Canadians I know couldn't name the ten provincial capitals. And I'd bet everything I own that a shocking number of Darfur activists couldn't find the place on a map.

It's great that Susan Jacoby is raising awareness, I just think treating it as another one of America's problems is likely to create a good deal of smug complacency in the rest of the world.

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