Karen, I must say that you have an eloquence to your arguments that transcends what most people are capable of. I like your rant about North America, because it matches the opinions that I've had as well. What can I say though, the ignorance of North America is the result of advancement. It is an irrefutable fact that any country which becomes wealthy and powerful inevitably becomes corrupt. People arent interested in intellectual pursuit because they feel no need to be. Those who have to struggle, as you said, end up learning, but what do North Americans have to struggle for. While many in the world work hard for what they have, North Americans have it lax. Its easy for us to sit idly by and watch as something which doesnt even affect us occurs. Its easy for us to watch a television which appeals to our need for excitement than it is to sit down and concentrate on a book. How well do we have it here? Lets put i this way, during the Tsunami that recently struck South Asia, we were able to generate millions and millions of dollars for that crisis without making a single change in our lifestyles. I agree with you though, our culture is one which scorns the intellect and seems to look upon such people with derision. How many times have you been in class and not wanted to raise your hand to answer a question for the fear of looking too nerdy? I know that I havent a few times. How many comedy skits have you seen recently that have been genuinly funny without cussing and using profanity to get cheap laughs? As for being in touch with history, I beleive that a person without a knowledge of history is like a person without eyes or ears, they cant comprehend the significance of whats happening around them. When it comes to the pursuit of luxury goods, there is something in human nature which strives for competition. You cant simply have a car, you have to have the BEST car. This is all about dominance and the ability to show off how much more you have than someone else. (congrats on investing that moolah in the bank by the way, you made the right choice) In the end, most people are simply too short sighted to understand the importance of education and critical thinking. Too often people live day to day rather than looking to the future. It's one of the signs of a declining civilization. In many ways Karen, everyone in our group is part of a select few: the thinkers who look upon society with contempt. In many ways we can be compared to Tacitus and Dante. Tacitus looked shamefully upon the degeneration of his Roman society and longed for them to return to their noble, incorruptible, barbarian-like roots. Dante , the Italian poet of The Inferno and many others, railed against what he viewed as the degeneration of his society. While we may not be on par with these people, in many ways we share a common plight: we see the world as it is, and we see it for what it could be. It is the second vision which causes us so much frustration because we compare the two and realize that some of the most important aspects of the world are being left out. As for that little history quiz, I'll try my luck with a few guesses: I think Columbus arrived in America around 1492...I think the Rape of Nanking occured in 1930 or somewhere around then...I think the first car was built in America...I think that 1984 was written at the height of Communism...What do u think?