Questions
Getting Started
Course Materials: CD-ROMs
Archaeology in the News
Class Discussions
Assessments and Grading
Module Overview
Introductions
We will never meet face-to-face but you'll be amazed at how close we come to a real class atmosphere, using the online discussions forums. Please tell us who and where you are, your interests, why you signed up for this particular class and anything else that gives you a personality we can relate to.
Module 1
How Do We Know That?
As you read about various investigations, pay attention to the kinds of evidence used to assert claims about dates, about what people ate, how long they lived, who ruled over them, whether there was contact between cultures and regions. Share with us what you noted.
What are the Triggers?
We will spend the first two weeks on a whirlwind tour of the various human or hominid adaptations stretching back millions of years, that occurred before the first "state" level society was founded. What were those adaptations (e.g. quadrupedal to bipedal locomotion, domestication of wheat) and what may have triggered them?
"Bad Genes"
Our bodies have changed in response to changing environmental conditions. But this doesn't happen in some two-step, dance-like fashion. That is, as long as the species goes on reproducing itself, "bad" traits might not get weeded out. So, what are some human physical, psychological or physiological traits that may have served us well in the past but no longer do.
Module 2
The Function of “Creation Myths”
We can probably assume that all societies developed creation myths, explanations for the origin of humanity. Egypt, in fact, had multiple creation myths which were “winnowed” as the nation became unified. What function do myths serve? In ancient Egypt and in modern times? As Egypt evolved from a series of city states into a nation, origin myths associated with less successful polities became “extinct.” How ironic then that, in modern times, there seems to be a political conflict engendered by advocates of the origin account in the Hebrew Bible who reject the account offered by science. An analysis can be found here: Wikipedia entry on Creation and Evolution in Public Education
Another way to look at this issue—which did not trouble the Egyptians, as the scientific method had yet to be invented—is that some see the future of mankind hinging on adherence to ancient laws and principles while others see it hinging on educating the population to understand science and the implications of scientific findings for the planet. What is your take on this very challenging issue?
Who Really Built the Pyramids?
It's been said, "Egypt didn't build the pyramids, the pyramids built Egypt." If we think of Egyptian civilization as analogous to a giant clockwork mechanism that just kept ticking for thousands of years, what were the main gears? What were the critical components and how did they mesh with one another?
Divine Leadership
In ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh was the chief executive AND an infallible god, deserving of unquestioning worship. The US, as a nation, is distinguished by the "separation of church and state." Why was this principle so important to our "founding fathers?" With all the fuss during the election about President-elect Obama's various pastors, it's as if we want our leaders to pass some litmus test of religiosity or sectarian purity. Closer to home, we had a leading Utah politician (Chris Buttars) castigating retailers (operating in what he has called a "Christian Nation") for using "Happy Holidays" as their sales mantra rather than "Merry Christmas," Why do many commentators and observers feel that the non-establishment principle is under threat today?
Module 3 Discussions
Rise & Fall
As we look towards the past we clearly see the rise and fall of civilizations. Great and glorious societies lie in ruins. Why? What mistake do humans keep making, again and again? Look towards the future. How much longer will our civilization last? What will cause the decline? Are there any lessons from the past we could draw on to prevent decline? Are we heeding those lessons? rs feel that the non-establishment principle is under threat today?
Nerds and Civilization
Scribes were clearly important to the birth of civilization; note how many could afford to commission nice statues or held favored status at court. Are modern scribes (scholars, teachers, scientists, secretaries) held in such high regard? Compared to, say pop stars, media personalities and athletes? What has changed?
Does War Advance or Retard Civilization?
Egypt’s Old Kingdom is remarkable in that you have the creation of an enormously successful, prosperous, artistically exceptional civilization—not dependent on the spoils of war or slavery. Ancient Greece and Rome also enjoyed long (short by comparison to Egypt) periods of civilization, untarnished by war. And, yet all three civilizations succumbed to the lure of conquest. So why do smart people, capable of great achievements in the arts or building technology, foster conflict and brutality? What are the causes of warfare? Have the wars launched by the US in the first part of the 21st century been beneficial to the country, to mankind? What role does the proliferation of arms play in fostering and maintaining contemporary conflicts? How can we reduce the likelihood of war? You may find this discussion of the play Lysistrata (in which your Professor had a cameo role in college) of interest. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata
Module 4
The "Natural Family"
Municipalities in our great state are being urged to adopt a legal definition of the "natural" family as follows: "The natural family is a man and woman bound in a lifelong covenant of marriage for the purposes of: the continuation of the human species; the rearing of children; the regulation of sexuality; the provision of mutual support and protection; the creation of an altruistic domestic economy and the maintenance of bonds between the generations."
Critics see this as a thinly disguised attempt to use government to turn LDS views into law. http://j.wingets.net/2006/03/kanabs-natural-family-resolution.html To date Kanab is the only community to adopt this resolution. But, seriously, what is the essence of "family?" Or put differently, what aspects of family appear to be necessary for the care and rearing of children and which aspects are subject to the whim of cultural variation? Does the fact that polygamy is the preferred option in most cultures of the world mean that "natural" families are polygamous? Wife-beating is or was also extremely widespread. Natural? Does it make sense to try and legislate what is "natural?"
Permanent Ruling Class
In ancient Egypt, the idea of a "Permanent Ruling Class," was taken for granted. Of course there would be a small ruling class set against a vast peasantry! During the European Middle Ages this distinction was seen as hereditary. That is peasants were viewed as genetically flawed, incapable of leadership or intelligent action. “Wise women” who used trial and error and tried and true herbal remedies might be accused of witchcraft, their intelligence and initiative condemned as the work of the devil. But the US has historically been seen as an open society where anyone could prosper, anyone could lead.
However, recent census data analyses (http://www.cbpp.org/1-26-06sfp.htm) show not only a huge income gap between the richest and poorest but that it is growing rapidly as the wealthiest prosper while the poorest stagnate. The current recession has, no doubt, accelerated this trend as unemployment among the working class soars. Are you comfortable with the idea of relatively permanent clusters of superrich and poor? What tax and spending policies of the last decade can be cited as contributing to the creation of a permanent ruling class in the US? What solutions do you see?
Eye of the Beholder
One of the striking things about Egyptian culture is their evident preoccupation with physical appearance and beauty. Portraits of overweight people are extremely rare, likewise excessively thin individuals. They used a huge array of cosmetics, cleansing products and enhancements like wigs. Fragments of love letters and love poetry suggest that, like us, they enjoyed “the hunt.” Fast forward to the present. Has anything changed? Are we also preoccupied with beauty and committed to enhancements? Why is physical attractiveness so central to mating and human reproduction? Do you detect changes in these practices since the Pharaohs?
Module 5
A Dignified End to Life
For the last several years, I go through a painful annual ritual. I meet and chat with an older gentleman whose family vacation cabin is adjacent to ours. Even though he's in "good" health and not that old, he looks and behaves like someone with one foot in the grave. Last year (2008), he was conspicuously thinner (still wearing size 42 pants cinched up to a 34 waist). His condition arises entirely because of his wife. She has been a living dead person for better than five years. She has suffered for decades with severe arthritis and the toll (in medical costs and her well being) has been staggering. The cruelest medieval executioner could not have devised more devilish torture than this woman has endured. She has had every joint in her body replaced, many of them multiple times. Her heart and other internal organs are shot and she has almost no movement. The pharmacopoeia of drugs she takes leave her in a vegetative state. The weight of suffering on her husband is an even greater tragedy. No one would regret her passing, as her husband says "It would be a blessing." Yet, no one in the family or in the medical establishment has ever questioned the costly and heroic interventions that have kept this poor woman alive only to fill her and her family's sack of woe. Assisted suicide is both illegal in Utah and contravened by their church. As I chatted with him this year, listening to a litany I could have recited for him because I've heard it repeated so often, I was reminded of Cleopatra.
As you know, Cleopatra was on the loosing side in the Roman civil war that pitted the eventual winner Augustus Caesar against her champion Mark Anthony. As enemy forces drew a noose around Alexandria, Cleopatra knew full well that she could expect no mercy. Caesar Augustus had openly bragged that he would have her dragged in chains through the thronged streets of Rome where she would be subjected to total humiliation, including gang rape. So, she chose to end her life with dignity, assisted by her attendants. Her actions were completely consistent with the prevailing mores of her Hellenistic culture. Were the mores of Alexandrian Egypt 2000 years ago more progressive or humane than those of today?
Ideology vs Pragmatism
A hallmark of ancient Egyptian society was stability. We saw, for example, how the hieroglyphic script remained unchanged for millennia because it was “sacred writing.” Political decisions were drive by ideology and technology changed slowly or not at all. Over the course of the last two centuries, with the rise of scientific reasoning, political leadership has been guided more by rational, scientific or pragmatic considerations rather than the former reliance on ideology. Hasn’t it? Not according to the “Union of Concerned Scientists,” which came out with several reports over the last few years damming the previous political leaders. The reports document, in mind-numbing detail, how the out-going administration had ignored or distorted scientific findings of various kinds to advance an ideological agenda. They further document that several of these agenda items have been inserted by the religious right. www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/a-to-z-guide-to-political.html
Meanwhile, President Obama has repeatedly asserted his determination to govern as a pragmatist and he has named many scientists (including a Nobel Prize winner) to his administration. http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/successes/
Have we at least temporarily averted moving back towards a more Egypt-like theocratic society? What are some examples of policies from the last decade that were driven by ideological considerations? How might Obama's policies and initiatives, especially on social issues, reflect his pragmatic perspective?
Utah: Ready for the Ten Plagues?
When studying past cultures and societies it can be instructive (and often eye-opening) to draw parallels to the present day. Read excerpts from 3 recent articles:
October 11, 2007 the Salt Lake Tribune reported:
"Greenhouse pollution: Utah warming faster than global average. Utah is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than the rest of the nation. The state is warming faster than the global average. And if nothing changes, prolonged, extreme droughts and heat waves are virtually assured."
The Salt Lake Tribune, March 15th, 2009.
"Anti-science legislators leading Utah down a rabbit hole" By Brian Moench (a Salt Lake physician and president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment)
Observing the Utah Legislature is seldom boring. But the scientific community in Utah would prefer boredom to the developing fear that a powerful anti-environment, anti-science cadre has hijacked the Legislature and is dragging Utah down the rabbit hole with a Mad Hatter disdain for what the rest of the world considers scientific fact.
The world's credible scientists are virtually unanimous on a looming catastrophe of climate disruption from fossil-fuel combustion. Each new prediction and piece of evidence is more alarming than the last.
The Great Basin, i.e. Utah, stands to lose more than virtually any other part of the country with the greatest increases in temperature and diminished water resources from this climate trend. The only real uncertainty left is not regarding emission-caused climate change, but whether the industrialized world will find the discipline necessary to prevent collapse of the environment that has made modern-day civilization possible.
But in Utah, those scientific forecasts are shut out of legislative policy and replaced by the personal view of Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, who proudly doesn't believe a word of it. So the Legislature has thrown science under the bus and proceeded full speed ahead in establishing Noel's chest-thumping denial as the policy of the entire state.
We have been led into the abyss of a dark economic future by breathtaking greed and conflicts of interest in the financial world and our own ignorance. Consider that lesson unlearned. We have elected to Utah's Capitol Hill a quorum of science antagonists who are eager to lead us into an ecological abyss, exploiting our ignorance and wearing their own lack of scientific background and conflicts of interest as badges of honor.
Salt Lake Tribune Forum Letter 06/23/2009 “Earth to Herbert”
J. Roger Guard Tuesday's front-page Tribune headline was "Herbert doubts climate threat." Then a front-page story on Wednesday reported the scientific basis for climate change in "Climate change is here -- deal with it.” The Federal Government report was the product of both the Bush and Obama administrations. It was researched and written by academic and government scientists and is endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences and most similar bodies globally.
What about this report does our soon-to-be-governor Gary Herbert not believe to be "conclusive?" Either soon-to-be Governor Herbert is sincerely uninformed or he's playing politics with Utah's environmental future. This is a sad sequel to the outstanding environmental leadership provided to Utah, the West and the nation by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
How does this connect with Ancient Egypt, you ask. Anyone seen "The Ten Commandments" recently? If you recall the ten plagues brought upon Egypt by Moses, maybe you'll begin to see some interesting possibilities. If you need a refresher on the ten plagues you can check out
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/judaism/f/10plagues.htm
The "plagues" could be seen as "natural" occurrences but the Bible says they were a deliberate manifestation of God's wrath against the Egyptians. Our drought, pollution, and future environmental//economic collapse could be seen as either natural or as the direct result of improvident and self-indulgent behavior on the part of the citizens. What do you think of this comparison? How is our situation today different/the same as the story of the Egyptians and Israelites? If the pharaoh had "Let my people go" the plagues would never have occurred. Do we have an easy out or solution? And, when the disaster comes will we suffer like the Egyptians or escape like the Israelites?
Module 6
It's a Material World
Ancient Egyptians spent a lot of time, effort and money in creating and provisioning their tombs. As you¹ve viewed many of the objects and paintings found in Egyptian tombs, did you ever catch yourself thinking "What a waste of time?" They spent their whole lives preparing for the afterlife. Maybe we could turn things around. If an archaeologist were to excavate your home or dorm room, what conclusions would they draw about you and your life? We believe that the afterlife was the ultimate goal for all Egyptians because of the evidence left behind in tombs. What do your possessions say about you?
One thing is clear, not all Egyptians could afford a lavish tomb and burial. While the archaeological record can tell many stories across the world, one it almost always reveals is a disparity of wealth, that those with status, power or wealth seem inevitably also to have more material possessions. Is this still true today?
This website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/material.html) shows photographs of families from all over the world, along with all of their possessions. Or in some cases, all their possessions that could fit in the camera frame. Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" comes to mind, doesn't it? How is his thesis related to what's revealed through this website?
Some societies have resorted to laws governing and regulating habits of consumption, called "Sumptuary Laws." (Never heard of it? There is a good summary on Wikipedia.) This would seem to indicate that some feel the drive to acquire is bad for society. What is usually the purpose of sumptuary laws and are they ever successful?
Do you think there is evidence for an innate human drive, that materialism is part of human nature? Do you consider this tendency as necessarily good or bad for society? What are the currents of popular thought today towards materialism?
The Pursuit of Happiness
Take a look at this short essay I wrote for the magazine Greater Good. What do you all think of the idea?
Title: What Price Happiness?
On October 13th. Michelle Cossey was arrested in the aftermath of her 14-year-old son Dillion's incarceration for planning a Columbine-style school massacre. When asked why she had purchased firearms to enable Dillion to assemble what police called an "arsenal of weapons," the mother replied, "He was unhappy ." Presumeably, her solicitation was also responsible for the boy's all-too-evident obesity.
I would argue that this episode signals a problem of national significance. American parents' pre-occupation with their children's happiness seems to be drawing a tidal wave of unintended consequences in its wake.
The idea that children should be happy and that their unhappiness should alarm their parents is not, by any means, common among the world's societies. After all, children are inarticulate, weak, they don't know much, their social status is very low, they suffer from hunger and chronic illness. Why should they be happy? As Heather Montgomery reports from her study in a Thai village, there is "..,no concept of any golden age of childhood…children are pitied because…they are everybody’s nong (younger sibling/inferior) ." For Ifaluk islanders, conspicuously happy children are a cause for concern and may require chastisement .
Americans who take their children abroad are quick to discover how thin-skinned they are. American youngsters suffer severe culture shock as they are exposed to the rowdier interactions of their foreign peers. In Japan, especially, children are toughened through rough physical play, endurance training and mutual teasing according to Daniel Walsh . By the same token, foreigners interacting with Americans are amazed at how children are free to interrupt and even derail conversations among adults .
Our assumption that children's natural state is one of bliss and that any departure from this state requires remediation has led to a host of unintended but quite damaging consequences. These include the epidemic of child obesity (and accompanying need for heart pressure medication) brought on by indulging the child with snacks while accommodating their aversion to active play or the out-of-doors. The problem gets compounded when the medical establishment complicity assists parents in denial. Because of the danger of making them unhappy, obese children are not to be labeled as such .
Heeding the unhappiness alarm has resulted in a tripling of youth on anti-depressants since 1993 .
Our responsibility for our child's happiness extends well into adolescence, as titles like Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence suggest. And while we readily accept that parents should meddle in their teenagers' social lives, Alexandra Robbins' recent exposé, The Overachievers, suggests that parents who facilitate their children's need for achievement are suspect. Even though there's no evidence that high achievers are at risk, Robbins would have us quail at the possibility of the potential emotional damage should these "over" achievers topple from their lofty perches .
We tolerate mediocre academic performance and rail against teachers who expose our children's failings. Schools in Connecticut have banned teachers from using red ink. Others are encouraging teachers to grade papers in “more pleasant-feeling tones” such as purple. These initiatives are part of a massive campaign to protect children's fragile self-esteem, a campaign that persists in spite of overwhelming evidence that, if anything, high self-esteem is associated with academic failure—especially among African American students. And, more recently, a large-scale study found that students who are indiscriminately praised and denied accurate feedback on their performance lose motivation and persistence .
The social cost of inflating self-esteem may be reflected in several recent Cassandra-like reports decrying the poor international standing of US students and the growing gap between the academic attainment of high school students compared to the requirements of the college curriculum .
I think it is time we re-considered our assumptions about children's "natural" state. Should we expect them to wear a permanent smiley face? Might they be better off, especially in the long run, to experience the states of hunger, cold, frustration, failure, and the pain of a scraped knee? Is being "picked last" the same as being bullied? Should their wish-list be our shopping list? Must we monitor and work to adjust their popularity, worry whether their clothes are in fashion, or insist that their teachers acknowledge their "specialness?" Go ahead, try it, they'll thank-you later on.
De-civilizing the West
If you were alive in the 1950s & 60s you would have been saturated with “Westerns” which came in all lengths and sizes for all ages. On TV and at the movies the culture of the West was fascinating. One theme from this vast body of “stories” was the process of civilization. The West—especially the intermountain area—is shown as a lawless and primeval frontier where whites and Indians battled ruthlessly, where outlaws preyed on isolated settlers and where mobs defended their “territory” via genocidal attacks like the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Juxtaposed to this barbaric culture was the slow spread of civilization, banks, stores, churches, law enforcement, community gathering spots, even opera houses! In the 1000s of films, a common motif showing this transition was the requirement that visitors “check” their guns. Weapons had to be lodged with the marshal’s (or sheriff’s) office or with the bartender in the saloon, to be retrieved on exit. The message was clearly that guns belonged to uncivilized, untamed outlaw territory, not civilized society.
Fast-forward to the present where Utah’s legislators seem determined to turn back the clock. Not only can nearly every Utahan “pack heat,” attempts to require them to “check” their weapons before entering churches and colleges have been beaten back. Not satisfied to spread lethal weapons across the state, “law” makers have made Utah a mecca for those seeking gun permits from around the world. The most recent attack on civilization has been launched by “Gun Owners of Utah” which is calling on its members to remove signs at airports, on buses, and at local parks banning guns. Not only is the US getting drowned in a flood of weapons but we are flooding Mexico with weapons as well, leading directly to their epidemic of mass killings. A story in the Salt Lake Tribune on April 15th, 2009 describes how John Phillip Hernandez, an unemployed 24-year-old living with his parents walked into a Sporting Goods store in Houston and, after plunking down $2600, walked out proudly (and legally) carrying 3 military assault rifles. These same weapons were used a few months later by drug cartel members in an attack on the Guerrero state AG’s office killing 4 policemen and 3 secretaries.
Given the growing number of gun-related injuries and deaths—even massacres—what is going on here? Bear in mind that we aren’t discussing gun ownership per se, not hunting by responsible adults. We are discussing a national movement to promote the sale, carrying and open and public display of loaded and lethal weapons. Personally, I’d like to keep the Wild West in the realm of fiction, I don’t want to read about in the paper.
For example, I attach two recent stories, including one from West Valley City that sounds exactly like we imagine the “Wild West” to have been. And, another, from New Jersey of yet another victim of the “guns for protection” myth.
Module 7
Objective "Media"
This was posted by a student in a previous semester: "I propose that we are in the process of reversing almost 5,500 years of history. The written word is losing its authority. First, people rely much more on electronic media for info than on print. And the mass media are so influential they color the way we treat ALL forms of information. Think "infomercial." Lots of people no longer appreciate or care about the difference between "objective," "unbiased" information...provided by, university professors, for example and the agenda-driven information provided by commercial, political and religious organizations."
Do you agree or disagree? Why? What do you observe in the modern world to support your view? On a personal note, I tend to respect and watch CNN because my daughter writes for them but when I, accidentally, hit Nancy Grace or Larry King, I’m appalled.
Barbarians?
If there is civilization, then there must be...barbarians? The Egyptians were rather notorious in seeing all other societies as less civilized than themselves. Who are the barbarians in history? What are the characteristics of barbarians? Do they see themselves as barbarian?
Romans thought of their society as highly sophisticated and civilized. From the perspective of the 21st century that view isn't so clear. After all, Rome allowed itself to be ruled by any number of homicidal mass-murderers. And, for several hundred years, the most popular form of public entertainment (savored by every class of society) were "festivals" in which human beings and animals ruthlessly slaughtered each other. The more we learn about Roman entertainment, the more barbaric they seem.
Likewise, we take great pride in our tremendous wealth and lavish personal possessions. Yet we are not universally admired. As I’m sure many of you have experienced traveling abroad, American society is often seen as extremely violent and undisciplined.
One way to think about civilization is through a historical lens. Each generation sees itself as more civilized than the previous. So crucifixion was a common penalty in Roman civilization, 6.000 rebel slaves (led by Spartacus) were crucified along roads leading out of Rome. Hanging was seen as more humane and civilized because the condemned died quickly. But hangings were popular public events and the dead were often left to rot on the "gibbet." Modern capital punishment hides the deed away discretely, death is swift and painless. Still, most of our "civilized" allies have done away with capital punishment and see us as barbaric, especially in the case of individuals whose crimes were committed in their early teens. At present only Belarus and the US, among Western nations, condones capital punishment. In terms of number of annual executions, we rank just behind Saudia Arabia and ahead of Pakistan. Are there other aspects of our society perceived as barbarous?
So You Wanna Be an Archaeologist!?!
In a past semester a student wrote: "I think Archaeologists must have the most boring job in the world, but am very glad that someone is willing to do it so I can learn about their findings." I'm sure some of you might want to differ with the author. Suppose you'd won an all expense paid "dig" for your birthday. Take a look at your classmates Archaeology in the News reports and tell us which one(s) you found most interesting. Which would you choose to visit for your "birthday dig?" You can read the reports by going to the Assignment tool and clicking on the "Published" tab.
Module 8
Social Mobility
Compare and contrast attitudes about social mobility...in Egypt, China (think civil service exam), Rome and our own society. Do all societies value social mobility? Do they provide avenues for social mobility? Our society embraces the idea of social mobility however, in a recent Tribune article, it was noted that "research on mobility, the movement of families up and down the economic ladder, shows there is far less of it than economists once thought and less than most people believe. In fact, mobility, which once buoyed the working lives of Americans as it rose after World War II, has lately flattened out or possibly even declined, many researchers say." From: Scott, Janny, & Leonhardt, David (2005) Struggling to gain the American dream: for many, class matters more now. Salt Lake Tribune, May 16, A 1.
The Role of Women
In ancient Greece a respectable woman was hidden away from society, whereas a courtesan might become an important public figure. Reflect on the role of women in earlier societies. What was life like for a mid-upper class Roman woman? Contrast with Egyptian womanhood. If you've seen the Chinese film "Raise the Red Lantern" - which I highly recommend - comment on the role of women in China. Consider the many notions about "ideal" womanhood in modern America. Click to view move options Close Menu Move Selected Items Above Move Selected Items Below Copy Selected Items Above Copy Selected Items Below
The Meaning of Democracy
In what sense, if any, could Egypt be considered democratic? Although the Greeks invented democracy, women and slaves could not vote. Rome had a history of vigorous democracy for several hundred years before giving up in favor of a dictatorship. We are justifiably proud of the work of the framers of our form of government but many see our democracy as eroding. Gore won the popular vote but lost to Bush—possibly due to hank-panky in Florida–then governed by his brother. But, perhaps the greatest challenge lies in the ignorance of the citizenry.
A popular video on YouTube shows Kellie Pickler, the adorable platinum blonde from “American Idol,” appearing on the Fox game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” during celebrity week. Selected from a third grade geography curriculum, the $25,000 question asked: “Budapest is the capital of what European country?” Ms. Pickler threw up both hands and looked at the large blackboard perplexed, “I thought Europe was a country.” The U.S. is steadily falling behind the rest of the world in the level of education achieved by the majority, one in four don’t even get through high school.
If the Ms Picklers didn’t vote then, perhaps, no problem. But the tremendous support for Sarah Palin suggests that a significant minority of Americans prefer a poorly informed and narrow-minded leader—as someone they could feel comfortable hanging out with. One advocate of the Religious Right freely acknowledged on national media that, in a candidate for office, “Ignorance is Strength.” Another advised people to vote for Christian principles and the economy would take care of itself. Others embrace obvious untruths (Obama=muslim; Iraq harbored terrorists) preferring those (and the leaders who propose them) to a truth they find uncomfortable. Madeline Albright, the first woman to be US Secretary of State, was recently quoted saying “The next U.S. President is going to have to give democracy back its good name." How can this threat to our democratic principles be addressed? Remember Adolf Hitler who persuaded millions of Europeans to follow him based on an entirely fictitious world view!