So what are we going to do about stupidity in America?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

We don't need another article telling us how stupid America is. We need positive outreach to convince Americans of the importance of educating themselves, even if they can't afford school.

Let's brainstorm. What can we do to make a difference?

I have a couple of ideas:

1) MoveOn style ads that inform Americans of their basic rights without offering a sales pitch for any particular candidate

2) Grassroots door to door "edu-evangelization" teams comprised of non-faith-based individuals working together as a community of concerned citizens, and armed with info on local free or low-cost adult education opportunities

[sandnsea]

1. America Coming Together #2

The teams are already in place. That would be a great idea, just basic constitutional rights, free from any current event or agenda.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. If MoveOn did it

it's possible that more fence-sitters would come around.

[sandnsea]

26. ACT has the database of people

ACT is the group that went out and did voter registration, they already have the people who are willing to go door to door. Part of the program was also to build relationships with new voters, so they would probably have those contacts too. I don't think that's what MoveOn did during the election, they ran ads and that sort of thing, as far as I know.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. ACT's website directs people to another website...

This one: http://americavotes.org/

Is ACT in a dormant phase until 2008? I hope not. We need to come together and stay together!

[sandnsea]

30. Looks like they're still active

Doing events and trainings.

http://americavotes.org/events.cfm

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. Thanks for the link!

:yourock:

[daleanime]

2. The ads are a definite need....

and loose local study groups are also a possible, but what about opening up formal education in some form?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. I'm not quite sure what you mean by opening formal ed...

but I'd really like to see my local schools (there's a high non-English speaking and under-educated population here) offering opportunities for kids and their parents to learn at the same time. It'd be tricky with work schedules; but it would serve to maintain strong family bonds and give these people the chance to help their kids the way they want to.

[daleanime]

8. Actually I mean several things....

Greater use of public schools(often the most expensive buildings in some towns), the possible of some changes to the public school system(maybe drop summer vacation-spread the time off around the rest of the year), pry open colleges(too manny consider college to be more expensive then they can handle or themselves to be too "stupid"), or maybe some form of government backed free class every semester. Sorry to run on but I think this is one of the most important questions we can ask. How do we improve ourselves?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. With many working 2 or even 3 jobs...

A living wage is essential. I'm sure a lot of folks don't take classes because they're energy is exhausted by overwork.

[daleanime]

16. True...

how could we over come that. Three hours one night a week. It is a lot to ask of some one, but the possible returns! Improve standards of living for themselves and their children, increased self respect, few thugs in public office...

[sam sarrha]

15. it is too expensive.. period for the underclass, and why go into debt to

just have your new job outsourced also.. my wife and I have had 3 jobs sent to China in 4 years, we lost our house, our savings and are about $40,000 in debt.

i have already spent a year getting certified for a job that no longer exists..total waste of money and time.

[daleanime]

17. Sorry to hear that....

and I pray that things will improve for you, but if your talking about preparing for one job-your talking about training not education. Creating and maintaining a good job market is another area altogether. Who knows if the right child receives a decent education he/she may solve that problem.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. It might be a good goal ultimately...

When I started the thread I was thinking more in terms of what we can do immediately...as Democrats...to bring people around to the value of educating themselves. If everybody simply read a copy of the Constitution and Bill of Rights it would go a long way.

I believe there are relatively simple, low-cost things we can do to inspire Americans to want to learn and enable them to do so.

[sam sarrha]

32. last month i started to relearn Algebra.. i am 57 and autistic.. i have

acquired 5 years of collage bit by bit.. i have an IQ of 164 but am functionally illiterate.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. ...but not ignorant

Stories like yours should provide inspiration for those who aren't aware of their rights because they never read the Constitution, or people who never learned to read. :thumbsup:

[sendero]

3. People...

... do not change their ways until they have no choice. The coming economic crisis will suck, but it will have the positive effect of waking people from their stupor, and putting the Republicans, who will correctly blamed for the disaster, out of power for decades.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. We need to be prepared for them before they come around...

[AlCzervik]

4. Some way to counteract the social wedge issues the gop will use to

ger their faithful to the polls.

[acmejack]

5. Pass out copies of the Constitution.

I have been handing out pocket copies of the Constitution for a while now. You can get them in bulk for about 50 cents apiece probably a lot less if you made them yourself.

[daleanime]

9. Sweet...

Great idea.:applause:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. Good idea...

When I was a kid, I had a copy with subtext that gave the gist of what was being said. I think many undereducated people may feel intimidated by the language usage in the original.

[theHandpuppet]

12. Very cool! Where did you get them?

50 cents is a great price for bulk. Are those the same pocket copies that Sen Byrd is always pulling out of his pocket?

[acmejack]

19. I was actually looking for ones like Byrd's!

I bought them on the internet, I have since discovered they were from a very red source. We should be able to find a blue printer and get a similar price, I would think.

[theHandpuppet]

24. Was this the one you purchased?

http://www.nccs.net/us_constitution.html

[acmejack]

29. Yes, indeed it was.

I got caught up in the thrill of comparison shopping & it didn't occur to me to even check who was printing them. I never thought a document like the Constitution might end up getting politicized.

[woo me with science]

28. Require that it be taught in school.

Ironic all the battles over saying the pledge, when people don't know what the hell it is supposed to stand for anyway.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

35. That's an excellent point

and one we should pass on to our legislators!

[TahitiNut]

13. Remove the guardrails along the rim of the Grand Canyon?

It's one thing to warn people not to use a hair dryer in while showering or bathing but ... who really needs to be told the Grand Canyon is deep and then have a rail to keep them from falling in??

[EFerrari]

14. Stop tagging the bears in Yosemite.

The BEARS can read. :)

[Nay]

21. the ACLU has been doing #1 for years with no discernable effect.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. I really hadn't noticed, but I'm not the most avid TV watcher...

Can you recall what ads have they produced that do not seek to sway opinions on votes, but simply inform people?

[Nay]

37. I believe they did the Homeland Security/library/grab the library

patron spots, and they do distribute DVD's detailing your rights as a teen, your rights as a driver, your rights if the cops are at the door, etc. I believe these are available free, or at very low cost.

[Blackthorn]

22. That's all well and good if you have a populace that reacts to that...

Because 90% of anything on TV is utter trash that is designed to reinforce some fake belief in some intangible "reality". Most people simply don't care about things above and beyond what flickering image the TV is carrying tonight and where their next meal is coming from. People are literally being turned into mindless windbags that only react to what they see and hear, without ever thinking about it. It's not just a case of explaining things to people, because these people are not 'designed' for that.

I don't know where to start, but its going to have to be far more serious than simply putting an ad on TV and some door knocking. The education system would be a good place.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Good point...So we could boycott

products which sponsor "stupidity TV", no? And write to the producers of such shows to let them know it. We could also follow the same approach with products that glorify ignorance and denigrate intelligence in their advertising campaigns.

We can do more about this than complain, I'm sure.

[Blackthorn]

31. No doubt.

Start by turning off the television and meeting with people. Emphasising similarities rather than differences. But the key is, that everyone needs to be pro-active about it. You can't 'convince' someone to act with just the facts, you need some internal motivation.

[sandnsea]

36. They started with direct mail

Did you know that?