The political flap du jour is the accusation that President Obama is spending $200 million a day to visit India, and that the administration has ordered the navy to deploy 34 ships for the event, i.e. one tenth of the entire US Navy (See Sacramento Bee, Nov. 6, 2010). The source of this outlandish accusation is an obscure Indian agency, and American conservatives eagerly ran with it, and magnified it. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Backmann, the frightening candidate for House Majority Leader, has repeated these allegations as facts. Glenn Beck has multiplied the number by ten, to arrive at a total price tag of $2 billion for Obama’s entire trip. The problem, once again, is stupidity: We live in a culture which is increasingly illiterate and innumerate.
Most people - and this apparently includes radio and TV demagogues with millions of followers, and congress people who represent millions of people - barely understand the difference between words such as “million” and “billion.” After all, it’s only a one-letter difference.
In her blockbuster movie “Contact,” Jodie Foster says that “she traveled billions and billions of light years away,” or something to that effect. Of course she meant millions, since the total size of the Universe is only about 10 to 13 billion light years.
But what the heck, a million and a billion are both “a lot,” so who cares if one is a thousand times larger than the other, right?
It’s the same with the current flap about Obama’s travel expenses. The trip may very well cost over $10 million a day. That’s roughly what President Clinton’s overseas trips cost. It’s a lot. But it’s one twentieth of the accusation.
In my book, even $10 million a day is extravagant. I know, security is very expensive, the President has a huge entourage, setting up such a trip takes months of expensive preparations, etc. Still, the extravagant expenses of today’s heads of state, CEOs and other big wigs will be remembered, centuries from now, the same way that we recall pharaohs, Roman emperors, the French Louis Kings and other despots from the past: squandering grotesquely, while the masses barely get by. But this is another topic.
My topic today is the cacophony of our illiterate and innumerate culture. And what else do you expect, when education is one of our country’s lowest priorities?
I realize that many people struggle valiantly to go to college, and that millions who would desperately want to get an education beyond high school are deprived of it due to circumstances beyond their control. At the same, radio and TV blowhards like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck announce the fact that they never went to college as a badge of honor. Even comedian Jay Leno proudly reminds us of this sometimes. They probably feel that this, somehow, makes them part of “the common people,” as opposed to pointy-headed intellectuals like Obama and all those liberal professors. The insinuation is that being uneducated is cool.
Years ago I read about a stone-age tribe in New Guinea called the “Dani.” They knew three numbers: “One,” “Two,” and “Many.”
But don’t worry, most of my students are way, way better at math than that. leave comment here
6 comments:
Is anything more destructive to a democracy than the suppression of logical and critical thinking apparent in the TV media talking heads and politicians out to pander to the most base instincts of humanity? In my day, we would have been ashamed of our ignorance. Now, ignorance and prejudice are celebrated. Where are the voices of reason? Thank you, Tom, for setting this issue straight.
"Well, the general public is not curious to know the difference: they are ANGRY...And once the message, no matter how stupid it is , repeated over and over, it becomes "fact" ("I heard it on TV...")
That is the reason that they believe that the tax cut for millionaires has to be extended "for the common people's benefit".This is the Republican mantra that tax cuts = jobs. Those tax cuts have been is the books for 10 years and we saw a steady decline of jobs. Those for the extension of the tax cut for the very rich should separate the greedy from the job-creators and come up with hard facts.
On 10/5/10 Brian Lehrer of NPR discussed with David Leonhardt , columnist to The NY Times about the Bush-era tax cuts. In the call-in section the host asked millionaires to share their opinions. The callers emphasized that THEIR TAX CUT DOES NOT CREATE A SINGLE JOB! Instead, the money goes to the bank and becomes invested in stocks , bonds, etc. Corporations may create jobs, but not the individual millionaires whose extra tax cuts go right into personal savings.
This has to be explained clearly and repeatedly to the public but it hardly gets any publicity and the mass (falsely) believe that the tax cut to the wealthy will bring them humble jobs ..."
Thank you for your comments.
"Bonjour" knows what she is talking about, as a life-long teacher.
Marianne makes a very good point - that tax cuts PER SE don't automatically translate into jobs.
Tom, I'm glad someone is paying attention to the idiocy to which we are subjected everyday. I don't know who's scarier, Glenn Beck, Michele Backmann, Rush Limbaugh, take your pick. They just seem so full of hate that they will say anything.
Dear Tom, the answer is "Yes uneducated people can change the world for Good.
The majority of the electorate in the other developed nations do not hold baccalaureate and graduate degrees, yet those uneducated populations elected and supported representatives who established first-rate health care systems for their entire populations. The uneducated majority in the other developed nations changed the world for Good. I rate their success as being the most civilizing achievement of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
The evidence: between 1946 and 2006, all of the developed nations except the United States established non-profit health system that provide universal access to health care for their entire population. All of them enjoy lower infant death rates and longer life expectancy than the United States. All of the other developed nations provide health care for their entire population for half or less than health care cost in the U.S.
Anonymous' takes the words out of my mouth.
We have posted on this blog innumerable pieces vaunting and documenting the superiority of health care in Europe and in other developed countries - for all the reasons you mention.
On a personal note: I moved here from the Netherlands. My mother lived with us in California for 20 years. When she became older and more likely get sick, we found it prudent to repatriate her to Holland, where she is a citizen. There, she thrives at 97, the beneficiary of a medical system which, despite some flaws, provides her with a level of care which she could absolutely not afford here.
So, anonymous, you are preaching to the choir, when you praise health care in places like Europe.
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As to the other question - is education important for democracy to function well?
You bring up the relative level of education here and over there. I received both a baccalaureate and an MA in Amsterdam, and I went to the Lyceum in Paris.
It is difficult to generalize and to compare. I also need to tiptoe so as not to offend.
American higher education is still often very good. On the other hand, American high schools are often a disaster. Then, too, European secondary education has changed since I experienced it. There are many variables.
And what do we mean by “education”? - the level of FORMAL education or - in addition - how informed and sophisticated the man in the street is?
In the LATTER respect, there is a lot naivete in the US, and an indifference to facts. For example, an awful lot of Americans believe in creationism, deny global warming, etc.
On the other hand, the best educated people in the world elected Hitler, and now the Europeans are once again turning to the right, so...who knows...
But I have to believe that - other things being equal - a better educated - or let’s say, INFORMED, people has a better chance of making the right political decisions. What else is there?
Is my response long-winded enough?
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