Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/why-we-need-more-cultural-exchange-programs

Comment #561

2007-03-27T11:35:54Z

Correct. I think you have to have a name like George Edward Roberts IV in order to go to St. Paul's during the normal school year. Or have a dad who is the governor of Massachusetts or something.

Comment #560

2007-03-26T21:09:18Z

Ah, a special program. I thought I remembered that you'd gone to the public high school.

Comment #559

2007-03-26T21:04:24Z

Students go to ASP the summer before their senior year of high school, so 1994 for me.

Comment #558

2007-03-26T20:43:53Z

Good point. When did you go to St. Paul's?

Comment #557

2007-03-26T20:36:09Z

A teacher I had at St. Paul's said that, "I don't know" wasn't a good answer, but that, "I don't know yet" was a great answer.

Comment #556

2007-03-22T21:39:50Z

What struck me most about the video was how it illuminated how most people are trained to think of questions. In school we are trained to answer the question without regard to our qualifications. The hope is to please the questioner, not discover truth. In that case, a bad guess is better than none. In real life, it is of utmost important to realize our qualifications and to ask the necessary questions before attempting to offer an answer. Ignorance is not half so scary as apathy. These people displayed no interest in the questions, only in pleasing the questioner. I am saying "I don't know" a great deal here in Europe, and I've never had such interesting classes and discussions. Why are we taught that "I don't know" is the worst possible answer?

Comment #555

2007-03-22T12:44:47Z

Too true. I realize anonymity is important in some situations, but too often it's just a cover up for the failure to behave responsibly. The explosion of online pornography is another example, sadly revealing that it was only the fear of being caught sneaking into a dirty bookstore that kept many people away from it before. Fear of being caught isn't the best motivation for avoiding bad behavior, but it may be that civilization depends on just that.

Comment #554

2007-03-22T12:30:40Z

This doesn't have to do with how Americans are viewed but about the ability to post vitriolic comments anonymously. From the AP: Online Anonymity Lets Users Get Nasty.

Comment #553

2007-03-21T21:23:25Z

I just found Jeff Stein's December 2006 Congressional Quarterly interview with then soon-to-be Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes. That's ignorance orders of magnitude more frightening than this video.

Comment #552

2007-03-21T19:52:25Z

Okay, my first thought was Uganda, as well. I wonder why. If I have to name my country I would call it the United States, not America, so I don't have that as an excuse. I wonder what people in the UK would say? Do they call their country the United Kingdom or do they say England, Scotland, etc. (I bet if they live in Scotland, they say Scotland)

At first I didn't notice that they had actually mislabeled the map they were showing the people, but come on! Adults who don't know one of the seven continents!

I will admit that I did not know what the Coalition of the Willing was. Also, my first thoughts for the Axis of Evil did involve the Axis powers during WWII, but I recognized that Iraq and Iran were really among the countries they were looking for.

I cringe when I hear people make the insensitive comments about other cultures on the video. No wonder people in other countries view us the way they do.

The comments made about the video are sad. Can't people make their point without resorting to foul language and bashing other people and cultures? Many of the people making comments had a running dialog going. Perhaps their time would be better spent on more intellectual pursuits including studying geography.