Ask your kids who John Glenn was?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

You get to post threads like this.

[Anonymous]

Lol gotta love the Internet! Only place you can argue about whether you knew about someone or not and why it matters. Have some respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40 and had no idea who he was. I would know Sally Ride or Neil Armstrong.

This.

Really? That is pretty pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40 and had no idea who he was. I would know Sally Ride or Neil Armstrong.

This.

Dumb ass and proud of it.

Times two.

I dislike judgy people so I give you pluses to admitting. All these people who know everything.... LOL. Most generation X know because we watched the movie The Right Stuff with Sam Shepherd.

Speak for yourself. I'm a Gen-Xer and I know all about Glenn because I lived through the Cold War, and remember learning about the space race between the Soviet Union and the US in the 1960s, and the role Glenn and his contemporaries played in those events. He was also a Senator from Ohio for 25 years and was always on the news even after he retired, so that is another reason you should know about him.

I absolutely judge people who go through life paying zero attention to anything around them. To not even have an inkling who John Glenn was means you don't follow the news, you've never set foot in the Air and Space Museum (or if you did you wandered around aimlessly and bolted to the gift shop instead of looking at the exhibits), you don't know about major American movies or novels, and you didn't pay attention in your elementary, middle, or high school history classes. If you had done even one of these things, you would know who John Glenn was.

Did you forget your Prozac today? You are not only judgy as heck but presumptuous. I am from Europe and not by definition American generation X, we didn't have such labels in Europe. I learned all about history books and classes, know most of things about him, been to the Air and Space Museum numerous times, on my own, with my kids, with my parents. The truth is that you protest too much, and clearly are learning your history from Museums and news... I learned it in school most likely before you were walking, and here you are going on and on about living through the Cold War. You had nothing to live through, Cold War was a political construct. What exact hardship did Cold War bring you? Did you know, since you are so well versed in all things, that USSR wanted to join NATO in 1954?
Did you know that SS member Von Braun was one of the main reasons US was able to launch V-2 rocket and that without him US mission to land on the moon never would have happened? As generation X earliest you could have been born was 1965, so there wasn't all that much "Cold War" to live through, not to mention that there was really no Cold War in the United States. Now if you lived in East Berlin, we could have a conversation. I hate judgy people, because they are ignorant of anything but themselves and making themselves look good at the expense of others. Do you know who Vaclac Havel was without the web search? Why did Poseidon want to kill Odysseus? Where was the capital of the Roman Empire after 330AD? When did the Roman Empire fall? Let's see how smart you are without Wikipedia.

Actually I lived in West Germany and my dad was away from home a lot for reasons that had everything to do with the Cold War. So yeah, it had an impact on me. We grew up thinking that nuclear war could actually happen. I've been to Checkpoint Charlie and what was then the USSR and disagree that the Cold War was a "political construct" to the people living on the other side of the Iron Curtain. And I know exactly who Vaclev Havel was. The Prague Spring happened before I saw a born but I remember the Velvet Revolution. I remember Tito too. And Lech Walesa and the Solidarity strikes. All that stuff was on the news. And seriously, the Odyssey? Please my 11 year old knows that. Ask me something harder. Historians don't agree on the actual date of the fall of Rome. Are you relying on Gibbons?

Anyway, the assumption is that an American should know basic US history and US political figures. I wouldn't expect you to know it, since you are "European."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

It matters because it is just another example of the average American's lack of education and engagement in the world, which causes us to make decisions that are bad for our country, bad for our democracy, and bad for our world. It's not this one fact alone that matters, sure. But as a people, we forget our history so we keep doing the same dumb shit over and over again. We lack a basic understanding of science so we deny climate change and don't vaccinate our kids against the measles. We can't identify Iraq on a map or tell you the first thing about it but we are cool with sending thousands of young men and women over there to die. We shrug when Trump calls the Pakistani and Taiwanese leaders and says stuff that makes our career diplomats stroke out because we have no idea what he just did. Our ignorance and anti-intellectual nature is an embarrassment and we are losing status in the world as the result of it.

What exactly DO you think a reasonably educated person should know about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

It matters because it is just another example of the average American's lack of education and engagement in the world, which causes us to make decisions that are bad for our country, bad for our democracy, and bad for our world. It's not this one fact alone that matters, sure. But as a people, we forget our history so we keep doing the same dumb shit over and over again. We lack a basic understanding of science so we deny climate change and don't vaccinate our kids against the measles. We can't identify Iraq on a map or tell you the first thing about it but we are cool with sending thousands of young men and women over there to die. We shrug when Trump calls the Pakistani and Taiwanese leaders and says stuff that makes our career diplomats stroke out because we have no idea what he just did. Our ignorance and anti-intellectual nature is an embarrassment and we are losing status in the world as the result of it.

What exactly DO you think a reasonably educated person should know about?

OMG, you are an incredibly pompous arse.

[Anonymous]

I'm an adjunct at a local university and am amazed at how incredibly ignorant people are thesr days. They dont read, they know nothing other than how to study the material in feont of them. No intellectual curiosity. Very few bright kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

It matters because it is just another example of the average American's lack of education and engagement in the world, which causes us to make decisions that are bad for our country, bad for our democracy, and bad for our world. It's not this one fact alone that matters, sure. But as a people, we forget our history so we keep doing the same dumb shit over and over again. We lack a basic understanding of science so we deny climate change and don't vaccinate our kids against the measles. We can't identify Iraq on a map or tell you the first thing about it but we are cool with sending thousands of young men and women over there to die. We shrug when Trump calls the Pakistani and Taiwanese leaders and says stuff that makes our career diplomats stroke out because we have no idea what he just did. Our ignorance and anti-intellectual nature is an embarrassment and we are losing status in the world as the result of it.

What exactly DO you think a reasonably educated person should know about?

OMG, you are an incredibly pompous arse.

This. While I agree with much of your sentiment, its dripping with pompous bubble life BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know who he is, but I grew up in Ohio.

Same here. I'm from Ohio, he's a true hero.

+1 He visited my school and signed posters for everyone when I was in maybe 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

It matters because it is just another example of the average American's lack of education and engagement in the world, which causes us to make decisions that are bad for our country, bad for our democracy, and bad for our world. It's not this one fact alone that matters, sure. But as a people, we forget our history so we keep doing the same dumb shit over and over again. We lack a basic understanding of science so we deny climate change and don't vaccinate our kids against the measles. We can't identify Iraq on a map or tell you the first thing about it but we are cool with sending thousands of young men and women over there to die. We shrug when Trump calls the Pakistani and Taiwanese leaders and says stuff that makes our career diplomats stroke out because we have no idea what he just did. Our ignorance and anti-intellectual nature is an embarrassment and we are losing status in the world as the result of it.

What exactly DO you think a reasonably educated person should know about?

OMG, you are an incredibly pompous arse.

Not the PP but she has a point. You seem to be a very self-absorbed close-minded human being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an adjunct at a local university and am amazed at how incredibly ignorant people are thesr days. They dont read, they know nothing other than how to study the material in feont of them. No intellectual curiosity. Very few bright kids.

Why have intellectual curiosity when you have Google at your fingers.

The world of Wall-E is closer than we think.

Lazy self-absorbed humans fine-tuning their brains to interact with screens only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really though, who cares? What does being able to ID him as an astronaut do to benefit your life?

It matters because it is just another example of the average American's lack of education and engagement in the world, which causes us to make decisions that are bad for our country, bad for our democracy, and bad for our world. It's not this one fact alone that matters, sure. But as a people, we forget our history so we keep doing the same dumb shit over and over again. We lack a basic understanding of science so we deny climate change and don't vaccinate our kids against the measles. We can't identify Iraq on a map or tell you the first thing about it but we are cool with sending thousands of young men and women over there to die. We shrug when Trump calls the Pakistani and Taiwanese leaders and says stuff that makes our career diplomats stroke out because we have no idea what he just did. Our ignorance and anti-intellectual nature is an embarrassment and we are losing status in the world as the result of it.

What exactly DO you think a reasonably educated person should know about?

OMG, you are an incredibly pompous arse.

Not the PP but she has a point. You seem to be a very self-absorbed close-minded human being.

I am sure you are the PP. Only stupid people broadcast their knowledge and act superior to others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40 and had no idea who he was. I would know Sally Ride or Neil Armstrong.

This.

Really? That is pretty pathetic.

Ok you want more pathetic? I'm 50, and didn't realize why he was famous (knew he was an astronaut) and my dad worked for NASA. Just one more casualty of my parents' divorce, which basically turned me into a latch-key kid with a crappy education. Did not learn all the cool science stuff or second language my dad knew, or my mom's cooking/knitting/different second language/etc. (Although to be fair, I spent part of it in Canada so probably missed out on the astronaut lesson in school)

I will ask my kids tonight--per the American way, I've tried to give them what I didn't get growing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40 and had no idea who he was. I would know Sally Ride or Neil Armstrong.

This.

Really? That is pretty pathetic.

Ok you want more pathetic? I'm 50, and didn't realize why he was famous (knew he was an astronaut) and my dad worked for NASA. Just one more casualty of my parents' divorce, which basically turned me into a latch-key kid with a crappy education. Did not learn all the cool science stuff or second language my dad knew, or my mom's cooking/knitting/different second language/etc. (Although to be fair, I spent part of it in Canada so probably missed out on the astronaut lesson in school)

I will ask my kids tonight--per the American way, I've tried to give them what I didn't get growing up.

I think you are smarter than the "know it all, sickened by American stupidity pp" because you acknowledge and are aware of what you know and don't know. The only way to expand your knowledge and learn something new is to accept your lack of knowledge in most spheres of life. Only smart people know and accept that what they know is just a small fraction of possible knowledge to strive towards.

"It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous opening up of new and greater prospect." Nikola Tesla

[Anonymous]

Thank you, 11:40. It is true I am always trying to learn, so I appreciate it.

I'll get back to this thread to report what my 6th grade and 8th grade DDs know. My 6th grader still goes to a Catholic, while my 8th grader goes to a private independent that starts in 7th...it is very interesting to see how the two schools handle things like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 (Catholic discusses and says mass, prays for the lost souls and those who sacrificed for our country; secular completely ignores--suspect they are worried they will offend someone). John Glenn is patriotic but less political so it will be interesting to see the schools' take, if any.