The average Americans knowledge of US history is pretty slanted

[captain queeg]

Children are endoctrinated in school to believe a very patriotic version of US history. The US is an amazing place and there’s plenty to be proud of but the numb nuts who loudly chant “USA, USA” and talk constantly about the second amendment, ignoring especially the other nine in the Bill of Rights really annoy me.

People today have grown up in world dominated by the US and somehow assume it’s our birth right and always will be and should be the case. Lots of periods of US history are glossed over in the simplistic narrative. Like that only a minority of people supported the revolution, I’ve read about 17%. I think most citizens today who support Trump would have lined up behind the British king. Or that there was a great deal of support for Nazi Germany prior to the war and even after Pearl Harbour a lot of resistance to our becoming embroiled in WWII. Lots of capitalist types acted patriotically but many have used wars to cynically get rich.

Don’t know where I’m going with all this. I guess maybe plugging for freedom of the press, open mindedness, and decent education. How many of the current crop of patriotic Americans could pass a US citizenship test? Not sure I could without studying first and I’m fairly well read. I remember a guy who used to run the parking lot at work. He was from Somali. The day he passed his citizenship test he was all aglow and smiling from ear to ear. Brought a tear to my eye to see.

[beachbum bob]

1. The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone should be required for all

americans to see and/or read

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Why? His account is just as inaccurate, and slanted, as some of the official versions...

[beachbum bob]

18. some yes but the majority of the info was not

[Archae]

23. So "everyone should be required" to watch a (at least partly) bullshit "documentary?"

Hell no.

Oliver Stone(d) can't get facts correct, he should be classified in the same category as "Accuracy In Media," the far-right group that made a Vietnam "documentary" that blamed "the liberal media" for losing Vietnam.

Even IF the majority of Stone's film is accurate, (and Stone's reputation for making stuff up puts the lie to that,) Jane and Joe Average won't know the difference.

[beachbum bob]

24. goes back to how ignorant the people are in the first place, but yes

[Archae]

25. They should be required to watch "Project Veritas" docs also.

"Oh that's different!"

Give me a fucking break.

[beachbum bob]

26. take a break if you need one

[Archae]

27. No. Facts are facts.

And "alternative facts," (Kellyanne Conway's term) no matter where the source is, are to be discredited and dumped.

That means Oliver Stone has to start being more accurate, otherwise we dump him and his bullshit.

Otherwise we are just as complicit in the spreading of fake news and fake history.

[exboyfil]

2. That is what burns me about

the attacks on Rep. Omar. From a Somali refugee camp to a House Representative. It is a journey worthy of a feature length film, not the abuse that she has been receiving.

I think even historians have a tendency to slant to their own preconceptions. About ten years ago I read both Zinn's book and Schweikart and Allen's book at the same time. History should be approached with a critical eye. Even the heroes have faults and the villains are not always black and white.

[Aristus]

3. The Republicans' desire for a huge military and a tiny government runs entirely counter

to the reason we broke from the British in the first place.

Among the charges Thomas Jefferson brought against King George III in the Declaration of Independence is: "He has attempted to render the military independent of, and superior to the civil power."

Yep, the repukes would have sided with the British if they had been around back then...

[SharonAnn]

16. Yes,they would have. Conservatives now are authoritarians.

[ret5hd]

4. "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn

should be required reading in all U.S. schools.

[hunter]

7. My children's A.P. history teacher required it.

They had a few classmates whose parents wouldn't buy it.

He gave these students their own copies.

[Brother Buzz]

10. Better than Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent?

[llmart]

12. I think American History classes should use it as the textbook.

It's a daunting book for sure, but well worth the read.

[artislife]

15. This. nt

[Wounded Bear]

5. The number that I remember was 30%...

...in that about 1/3 of the population was for the revolution, about 1/3 was decidedly against it, and the other 1/3 were basically don't care, leave me the hell alone types.

The current 3 way split is not new in any sense. It's always been there. What has changed is that the 1/3 who just want to be left alone no longer have the frontier to flee to. The polarization we see, really isn't a 50/50 split and never has been. That narrative sells more papers and generates more clicks.

As for the citizenship test? The number of non recent immigrants who could pass it is pathetically small. It should be a requirement to get a High School diploma that students pass that. It's a pretty easy test for anyone who didn't sleep through American history.

The fact is that immigrants are usually the most patriotic in a truer sense because they chose to come here and work to become citizens. Far too many who were born here are infected with the malaise about it all you describe. What we end up with are political rallies that are about as substantive as local High School pep rallies before this weekend's game.

[geardaddy]

8. I like your idea that all students should be required to pass a citizenship test

in order to graduate from high school.

[Jimbo S]

14. I believe that is the case now in Wisconsin

passed by Scott Walker Republicans.

[geardaddy]

21. Seriously?

I would think they wouldn't want students to be informed.

[Jimbo S]

28. Confirmed

Started with the Class of 2017. Also must recite The Pledge daily. Both a nationalistic thing.

[link:https://dpi.wi.gov/social-studies/laws/civics|

[captain queeg]

17. I read recently about the distribution of political discourse in this country

And I’d agree it matched my observations. It said about 10% on either end of the spectrum drive the news and social mediums cycles. The rabid left and rabid right. Then about another 20% in either end had pretty strong opinions but didn’t try to dominate the discourse. While the bookend positions were pretty equal in size I think that next category wasn’t so even; maybe 15% on one side vs 20% on the other. Then they called the largest, middle section, around 50% of the population the exhausted middle. The people who were so sick of hearing constantly about extreme positions that they’d largely stopped paying attention. I thought that was probably an accurate observation.

That’s a lot of the problem these days. We have been numbed by things that would have been unthinkable nowadays that would never have happened 20 yrs ago. Because I lean left I’d point to Trumps actions that I think would have been outrageous not that long ago. But I suspect some RW could point to some things going on nowadays that would have been unimaginable out in the open on the left in years gone by. And because of this numbing it’s hard to get a lot of average kind of people to pay attention to things that my not be outrageous but are actually affecting their lives more than the latest Trump idiocy.

[misanthrope]

34. You mean this sadly easy test?

https://my.uscis.gov/en/prep/test/civics/view

As I said in posting this link within the last few weeks, the fact a majority of natural-born Americans can't pass this means we are a failure in self-governance.

[a la izquierda]

9. I'm a history professor at a major state university.

Many, many students know nothing at all about any history. And their interest in it extends to the Civil War and WWII. If they know anything about my field-Latin America- it’s mostly ignorant tripe put forth as “history” on the History channel.
Yes I’m generalizing, but students are not taught the fundamentals of history and why they should be remotely curious about it.

[qazplm135]

11. I still remember

when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor and Harriet Tubman wouldn't give up her seat on the railroad.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. What they teach as history in grades 1-12 is rather pathetic

It wasn't till I went to college that I unlearned a lot of it.

[RobinA]

19. Well, I Think

High School history is meant to be a foundation. I thought about this a lot (I am not a teacher), and I can't figure a better way of teaching it. You don't have a lot of years when the students can understand more complex information to get a lot of info into their heads. Plus, you're dealing in a subject that must kids don't see a use for. I did for some reason, and I remember a lot, but that was just me. I was in school in the 60's - 1975, so most of the way I was taught has probably changed.

I don't know. What WOULD be a better way of teaching it?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

20. Except there's 8 years before high school

[Blue_Tires]

22. despotic strongmen are in vogue these days

which is why both the far right AND the far left have such a throbbing hard-on for Putin, who does what he wants when he wants like the honey badger...

[Mendocino]

29. "I love the poorly educated"

[Harker]

30. The average American's knowledge of many things

seems slanted. Or demonstrably wrong.

[former9thward]

31. Interesting that you give us an analysis of how Americans view history.

Where do you get this from? I ask that because you do not use American spelling for words in your OP.

[captain queeg]

36. Harbour rather than harbor? Don't know, maybe I'm bilingual.

[Nitram]

32. You think? History in this country has always been taught to instill a narrative of progress and

white superiority in young minds. The lucky ones learn our real history from a few good professors in college, or learn it on their own by reading.

[murielm99]

33. Find a copy of the test questions

and see if you could pass it.

Some years ago, I put a copy of the test in our Democratic headquarters. Anyone who was interested could go through it to see if they could pass. There were many people, even those who were among our group of activists, who were ashamed by how little they knew.

It helps to brush up on our civics knowledge every once in awhile.

[misanthrope]

35. Try this

https://my.uscis.gov/en/prep/test/civics/view

[OxQQme]

37. 18 correct of the 20 questions

[kairos12]

38. 20 for 20

[captain queeg]

39. I also got 20/20. To be honest I was surprised but these were pretty easy.