US Education

[darren.ellis@chrysalis.org]

From: "DAVID.A.GERSTEIN" <9475609 at arran.sms.edinburgh.ac.uk>

      DON AGAIN:
> ... American kids aren't bright enough to recognize blatant 
> market manipulation and crowd control ...
<snip>      Our education system is also much poorer than that of most 
developing countries, and getting poorer with each piece of 
Republican legislation.  I didn't learn anything about big business 
and how consumers are manipulated until 12th grade.  Er -- that is, I 
didn't get TAUGHT anything about it in school.  Your story "Nobody's 
Business" inspired me to read a book about advertising techniques 
much earlier on (in 1987).  But that's another story...  ;-)
      American kids are not dumb.  They're just living in a state in 
which the status quo encourages moneyed interests to take advantage 
of their susceptibility....
<snip>

   While I don't agree with Don's assertion that "... American kids aren't 
bright enough..." and I do agree with your point that "American kids are 
not dumb" I cannot sit by and accept your reasoning.

<begin Rant>
   COME ON! You don't actually believe that liberal claptrap, do you?
Learn from HDL.  They WANT to learn.  They don't wait to "GET TAUGHT"
something.  They actively seek out information and knowledge.  They
have learned from their Uncle ($crooge, not Donald) that nothing worth
having is ever just handed to you, you have to WORK for it.  
   Yes, we don't have the best education system in the world, but you 
are absolutely incorrect when you say that is is because of Republican
legislation.  It is liberal policies that have brought us lower standards
based on the theory that it is unfair that everyone is not equal and if
someone advances, they cheated or lied to get there.  The Democrats
in the US would have you believe that you shouldn't have to work for 
anything.  You should be handed everything by the government and if
aren't successful, then it must be someone else's fault (probably Newt
Gingrich, Ronald Reagan, or Rush Limbaugh).
   Advertising is based on persuasion.  It is trying to get someone to 
part with their (presumably) hard-earned money.  If children are duped,
then are are 3 possiblities that I see: 1) The parents chose to forsake 
their responsibility to protect and educate their children. 2) The child 
has more money than brains. or 3) The child and parent were the victims 
of fraud and can seek protection under the law.
   America isn't a land where the strong take advantage of the weak.  It
is a land where anyone can be anything they want to be, if they are willing
to pay the price.  Sometimes you can't have two dreams (like being fabulously
wealthy and doing the work that you want).  Sometimes you have to make a
choice between the two.  America is a land of Sharpies and Smarties.  If
you want to be successful, you have to be "sharper than the sharpies and
smarter than the smarties".  Too bad there are so many wanna-be Gladstone
Ganders sitting around waiting to get everything by pure dumb luck.
<end Rant>

Sorry about that.  David's comments set me off.

Darren Ellis

<back to lurking mode>