I don't know about the younger generations, but around 22 years ago I studied 10th grade in American as an exchange student, and even though I was still learning the basics of the language, in a few months I was doing better in US History tests than most students in my class, which at the time I thought it was pretty appalling (for them). It is very dangerous to have a society that is so ignorant of its own history and culture, and let's not talk about *foreign* history...
1:34 The guy says that he'd say that "48% of american's could tell him who Joe Biden was and 71% percent couldn't." Maybe HE should take this test O.O
@HannibleBonaparte yeah exactly :)) i'd rather not know who the vice president is (cos it changes every so often), than not being able to do this simple math @.@ yeah sit there and talk, theyoungturks...
But we didn't fight the cold war, did we? There were no physical battles, it was the US vs. Russia being paranoid about who was going to destroy who first, right? And there was the whole space race thing too...
we haven't actually studied the cold war in school yet, this is just what I remember hearing. Am I right?
@CakeBeneathTheIcing What do you consider the Korean War and Vietnam War to be then? Both United States and Soviet Union were spreading their influences by supplying equipment and training to those that agree with their political system.
In the Korean War, we actually fought against 100,000 Communist Chinese troops who were trying to take back North Korea from us. Although there wasn't that much contact between the Soviet and United States, there are some Soviet pilot who fight against US.
us americans are retarded stop fuckin makin excuses i got a perfect score on that test and your saying oh these americans are not real americans. Fuck you.
The bottom line is that history is a neglected subject in this country. The main reason for that is because of the fact that it doesn't lead toward a successful career.
Citizenship tests are such bullshit. My country has them too, they're all about sport and different types of food. I don't like any of the foods on the list, and I can't stand sport. As an Australian I'd fail it, therefore they're retarded.
@irferf The Cold War was "fought" to protect American interests in other countries, especially third world countries that have large supplies of natural resources.
we have a similar test here in germany and the "funny" thing is that the people who hate foreigners the most (of course only foreigners with dark hair and eyes) are the ones who cant even write theyr hatefull ignorant shit in correct german language
During my year as an exchange student, I was shocked to notice when I mentioned the Cold War during a presentation for a 11th grade English class and people got confused because NOBODY in that class actually knew what the Cold War was. But then, that was in Texas...
Also, very poor statement when you call the historians' comments an 'excuse'. Unless they're directly attempting to defend American ignorance, it's not an excuse, it's them attempting to explain a social trend within the United States. Academic studies on events does not instantly equal an opinion.
I read the Newsweek article and they don't provide the actual wording of the questions or state whether or not it was multiple choice. Also, some of them were not easy at all. How many amendments are in the constitution? I didn't know that number. How many congressional and senate reps are there? Didn't know that exact number either.
History is an iffy thing. It's taught chronologically, so most people I know know everything before WWII and are knowledgeable in terms of current events, but I don't feel like it is a students fault that they didn't learn information on the Cold War, because there's a good chance they had no opportunity to learn about it. But seriously? Joe Biden?
yall kiddin me? you didnt learn about the cold war or slavery? not even a passing mention no? NO US history class? i went to a ho dunk public schol and even there we got us history in the 10th grade, starting in the 1600's til the present. if you didnt know we had slavery till the civil war, in fact, if you didnt know we HAD a civil war, its your own fault you got bad grades. yeah schools suck, and leave shit out, but sayin you didnt learn about slavery or the cold war....cmon
Personally I think Canadians would do better than many Americans on that test. Not because we are smarter, but Canadians tend to observe the US from a third perspective.
I find it dubious that Texas is rewriting history books.
dude. learned the ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE TWO WORLD WARS WAS PAINFUL . BUT I GOT AN A +. i'm happy that i'm from sweden because we pay 30% of our pay to the goverment so we have FREE healt care and education. i hope that america will soon have the same.
I think all voters need a civic literacy test before they can vote. Too bad this idea was supported by Tom Tancredo and it automatically mean that it is xenophobic, racist, discriminatory, anti-American, right-wing, and extremist...
My high school history classes were a joke. Consisted of watching the Meg Ryan movie "I.Q." some baseball movie where a chick kills her lover, Zulus, and a for about a week we were assigned chapters to teach one another while our professor flirted with the teacher down the hall. We never went over anything beyond the industrial revolution and I couldn't tell you one thing I learned in that class about the industrial revolution. Ridiculous.
73 percent didn't know about the cold war.......the fucking cold war? I'm fucking 16 and I know about the fucking cold war, jesus christ this country is full of fucking RETARDS.
gee hmmm when was independence day...hmmmm it's only the most broadcasted and celebrated national holiday ever...oh wait that's christmas...well i do know its early july....lot of people talking about...does it got somethin to do with america? nawhhhh
@pornfartin it was basically two nations whipping it out to see whose was bigger. We made more nukes they made more nukes, they planted nukes in Cuba(90 miles from US soil) and it scared us. We aimed nukes at them in parts of Europe and it scared them. We both decided it was not a good idea to fight eachother so we both gave up.
I passed my citizenship test in 2009. Piece of cake. Nowhere near as hard as the British one, which I failed, with a weak 67 per cent correct. And I'm from Britain.
Of course, much more important than the actual US test is having $695 to buy your way in.
"73% couldn't correctly say why we fought the Cold War"
They know, it's just that "d) because Americans were retarded children who alternated between being scared of their own shadows and trying to keep up in a dick-measuring contest" probably wasn't on the answer booklet.
@Melpheos1er Iraq wasn't part of the cold war. Vietnam was to support a pro american government and keep it in place in a strategically important part of the world.
@Melpheos1er i meant that for the cold war, the argument is the same as for Vietnam and Iraq... Made no sense... Not that Iraq was part of the cold war...
And no ! It is a really really stupid idea to go to war to keep a government in place.
As far as the Cold War, I can't remember having a single class where we actually discussed it past the fact that it wasn't really so much of a war as a standoff. Most of the classes I had, we started off at when Jamestown was established, then hurried through everything. We rarely focused even on WWI, WWII (particularly Hitler and the Holocaust) was what my teachers and the end of grade exams were worried about.
We took an informal version of the citizenship test in my American history class, and I passed with flying colors. They did not, however, teach us anything about the cold war or Desert Storm. We were taught about slavery (like, A LOT, the same material over and over again), the genocide of Native Americans, the Constitution and Vietnam.
@Sunkisthappy Because slavey has impacted citizens in this country terriblely and still has a lasting effect, which most of you like to forget, when you go on your rants about black people this black people that fella.
@esamuels35 " Because slavery has impacted citizens in this country terribly and still has a lasting effect, which most of you would like to forget, " Liberals and Progressives in America will never let African Americans forget what happened because it impowers them.
its not a surprise. all they teach you about history is about slavery. i been learning the same imformation about slavery since 2nd grade. when i was in high school i still was learning about rosa parks. that all they teach people. besides who care US citizens shouldnt have to know this stuff.
The figures on this survey may be artificially low due to the fact that one of those questioned is a Congresswoman from Minnesota and another is the former, half-term Governor of Alaska.
great news, we should allow Obowma to throw another 77 billion into public education for the inner cities this current budget cycle, that would help! lmfao!!
Last time I checked this test was for immigrants... not natives. A 5 year old won't pass this test...neither will an American born baby...but they are still an American citizen.
The ability of a Native born American to pass this test is not relevant to anything...
We had a mock citizenship test at work last year, I passed with flying colors but the majority of people who range from 25-45, failed miserably. Myself, a temp, a college seasonal worker and two of my fellow full-time co-workers scored perfectly, their were a few mid-range scores but the majority were complete fails.
I can understand missing questions that you haven't covered since elementary/middle school. Maybe they forgot that fourth of July is independence day.Most Irish don't even know why the hell they're celebrating St. Patrick's day.
In history class they leave out a lot of information, such as the Cold War, slavery, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, genocide of Native Americans, the Articles of Conferderation, the Constitution's articles, and Vietnam. You know, the stuff we don't like to talk about.
@CHAOSoriginal Oh really? In my history class we learned about the cold war, slavery, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the genocide of native Americans, the article of confederation, the constitutions articles, and Vietnam.
@lilnicky492 Most do, but no one really pays attention since most people don't care. They just memorize the answers, put them in the blanks and forget about it for the rest of their lives.
I think we're progressing. We've talked about America's history with Native Americans and right now we're on African colonization. My teacher is willing to badmouth America because he's honest
What are you talking about? I covered that in middle school.From my experience. Elementary covers geography and all that other fun stuff. Middle school covers most of the US history. And high school covers world history.
@CHAOSoriginal US history is a mandated class, and in US history, its hard to not mention indians, or slavery, or the coldwar....in fact, its literally impossible to understand US history without these things, so if your school DIDNT mention it, your school was your parents homeschooling you
I took practice citizenship tests for Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. As a resident of a commonwealth nation, I'm ashamed to say I failed the U.K. test miserably. The U.S. one, though, was remarkably easy. "Which ocean borders California?" "Life, liberty, and [blank]?" Despite gleaning most of my information of American history from cartoons, I still ended up with 80%.
The cold war is being fought right now, called global warming. Trying to warm up the planet so the homeless don't get cold at night, and I'm doing my part.
@bigstewProductions Polls normally carry a margin of error. It would have to be extraordinarily wide for these numbers to be insignificant, and in such a case it wouldn't have been published in the first place because of its unreliability.
it's communist propaganda that messed with American brains, damn them LOL poor American people don't know which side is which, who is ruling the country, its those damn redcross bolsheviks, I tell ya:)
americans are a bunch of fat fucking retards who were convinced that the twin towers were taken down by some even more backwards retards who live in caves, they're so retarded that they just hand over billions upon billions of dollars to the wealthiest people, corporations and Israel without so much as asking why, they let their government constantly push them into the conflicts of other nations without so much as asking why, american citizen = epic retard FAIL
It amazes me that even though all the history you learn is American history, all the news is American news, the only politics you pay attention to is American politics, but still you get the answers wrong. Yet ask Europeans or Canadians and they would pass your citizenship test.
@Ibis333 That's not true. You learn world history also. It might depend on the curriculum exactly what they are taught, but most basic schools here teach world history. And a lot of the time they are just taught to pass state assessment tests and not taught things that are really important. I find it funny that you're bashing America for this when your ignorant about what they even teach here. You're also just making an assumption that people in America only watch American news and politics.
I think it kinda works, we have idiots in the country, but we don't want more idiots in the country. I'd rather get rid of the idiots we have, but that's kinda unfair, but I want some sort of test in place.
When my parents went to take the test to become citizens, they did not know who was the vice president.
Fact of the matter is, it's all history. I could do it but most people STUDY for the test. And they give you all the answers and questions on flashcards and some other papers.
The citizenship test is not hard, all you have to do is study for it and you'll pass.
Ok first of all, I grew up watching Card Sharks, and it was just a game of hi/low basically. The game he's describing is Family Feud. Just saying.
Second, this is just sad and reminds me of a survey done a few years back where Americans didn't know the earth revolved around the sun or that Judaism was older than Christianity, etc. Stupidity is cheered and rewarded in this country. Proof: 2 words - Jersey Shore.
@DisturbedHavok I read 7 pages of comments and nobody is blaming Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. I thought they were to blame for everything. Especially people being stupid. Strange.
@chaumont20 You can't "blame" Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News, et el... for the stupidity in American attitudes. Rather it’s the stupidity of American attitudes that are to blame for allowing Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News, et el... to spew false and twisted ideals as fact and truth through mass media.
Past surveys have showed that close to 50% of Americans believe that FoxNews is a reputable News Agency.
@PirateFish1 " Past surveys have showed that close to 50% of Americans believe that Fox News is a reputable News Agency. " Only 50%, I thought it would be higher than that.
@chaumont20 They're not to blame for people be stupid, but they're to blame for George Tiller and violent protests. They capitalise on stupidity, and perpetuate stupidity. I don't think that's any better.
@chaumont20 They didn't poll Newsweek readers, they polled American citizens, they didn't say how. At any rate, I don't know who reads Newsweek. By the comments on FOX NEws, and the errors of their hosts, I doubt they do any reading at all.
@chaumont20 Usually they randomly call American housholds.. Here are the results:
"And while conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats held their own, much of the political center has tuned out of the conversation about what it means to be an American, undermining the foundations of the country's future."
So you are wrong, both conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats did well, moderates not so much, but looking for facts isn't really on your radar, is it?
@sweettater99 The fact that conservative Republicans did well has got be a very ,very, big disappointment for you. Thank you for the research though. Peace
@sweettater99 Football ? There are obviously "sides". Conservative and Liberal - Progressive. I'm glad they didn't ask that question. Liberals are supposed to be tolerent, so respect the fetish. So everybody wins.
@chaumont20 Only those of limited intellectual means believe in liberal vs conservative as a defined line. There are actually four "sides" and most people are chimeras anyway. Most trolls know what they are talking about. What happened to you?
@Xerxes4242 " Yes, but 80% of Americans also believe in a god, and they're wrong. " Why are you bringing god into this. Of the 321 comments you are the first to bring up god. Why ?
@Xerxes4242 48 out of 100 I believe is the number he used. That's the whole "SURVEY SAYS!" thing. That's Family Feud. They survey 100 people or however many and "48 say this".
Card Sharks is "Here's a 9 of clubs - is the next card higher or lower than a 9?" Maybe the Gameshow Network has reworked the classic Gameshow, I don't know because I don't have that network with my cable plan.
@Xerxes4242 I stand corrected. I think the last time I saw the show, I was like 8 (over 20 years ago) and apparently I only remembered the part of the show I liked the most - the higher/lower part.
I read the article. They're suggesting the mechanics of the US Govt system (inc all the States) are more complex & bureaucratic compared to individual European Parliamentary systems- which is true (not the EU Parliament though!). However that has nothing to do with it. It's down to culture & geography. Eg generally we get a broader amount of information in the media here compared to the US. That doesn't mean Americans are stupid, it means the info they're exposed to isn't always as informative.
I don't know about the younger generations, but around 22 years ago I studied 10th grade in American as an exchange student, and even though I was still learning the basics of the language, in a few months I was doing better in US History tests than most students in my class, which at the time I thought it was pretty appalling (for them). It is very dangerous to have a society that is so ignorant of its own history and culture, and let's not talk about *foreign* history...
GuillermoSTD 2 days ago
1:34 The guy says that he'd say that "48% of american's could tell him who Joe Biden was and 71% percent couldn't." Maybe HE should take this test O.O
HannibleBonaparte 3 weeks ago 2
@HannibleBonaparte yeah exactly :)) i'd rather not know who the vice president is (cos it changes every so often), than not being able to do this simple math @.@ yeah sit there and talk, theyoungturks...
gazelle1991 2 weeks ago
he is defending ignorance and pointing out the less worse on that situation with american citizens
vlvtrvlvr5613 4 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
don't say your, an american, or chinese, or what ever. just say your human. because countries divide people and that always causes problems
TheSolitaryTraveller 1 month ago
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TheSolitaryTraveller 1 month ago
i am 12 years old and i know ALL the Bill of Rights
Purplestar2799 1 month ago
But we didn't fight the cold war, did we? There were no physical battles, it was the US vs. Russia being paranoid about who was going to destroy who first, right? And there was the whole space race thing too...
we haven't actually studied the cold war in school yet, this is just what I remember hearing. Am I right?
CakeBeneathTheIcing 4 months ago
@CakeBeneathTheIcing you're right it was more of an economical war but don't forget about the shit happened in vietnam...
Metallicazor 3 months ago
@CakeBeneathTheIcing What do you consider the Korean War and Vietnam War to be then? Both United States and Soviet Union were spreading their influences by supplying equipment and training to those that agree with their political system.
In the Korean War, we actually fought against 100,000 Communist Chinese troops who were trying to take back North Korea from us. Although there wasn't that much contact between the Soviet and United States, there are some Soviet pilot who fight against US.
RoyalDog214 1 month ago
Anybody else get that freaking Subaru commercial?
Ilovecaptainjack224 4 months ago
us americans are retarded stop fuckin makin excuses i got a perfect score on that test and your saying oh these americans are not real americans. Fuck you.
MacXballer 5 months ago
I'm not american and I can answer all the questions. I'm just saying! AND I haven't ever been to the US before....
TheAlmightyBabyDrago 5 months ago 13
@michealati2 Dumb ass....
Partyffs 6 months ago
The bottom line is that history is a neglected subject in this country. The main reason for that is because of the fact that it doesn't lead toward a successful career.
will786 6 months ago
Got a 96 on the citizenship test on my first try LEGGOOO!
P.S Im 17 haha
ThePatriots54 6 months ago
Fuckin ignorant white people, I lived in Mexico until i was 8 and now im 14 and I knew the all the answers to the recently said questions.
infamousbeast14 6 months ago
@infamousbeast14 If anything, you're the ignorant one.
Not all citizens of the USA are white....
Also it would be "I knew all the answers to the recently ASKED questions."
TerminalRhinoVirus 6 months ago
@infamousbeast14 Don't worry, you'll be an "ignorant" American, too, someday...
kylehyde28 6 months ago
Citizenship tests are such bullshit. My country has them too, they're all about sport and different types of food. I don't like any of the foods on the list, and I can't stand sport. As an Australian I'd fail it, therefore they're retarded.
2edsajdmsa 8 months ago
"fought" the Cold War? that's a weird way of putting it...
irferf 9 months ago
@irferf The Cold War was "fought" to protect American interests in other countries, especially third world countries that have large supplies of natural resources.
oodlesofosz 8 months ago
A citizenship-test is a joke when we allow wetbacks to stay.
postalmeter 9 months ago
Europe doesn't have berocroy? Last time I checked it was still there
cmdstraker 10 months ago
we have a similar test here in germany and the "funny" thing is that the people who hate foreigners the most (of course only foreigners with dark hair and eyes) are the ones who cant even write theyr hatefull ignorant shit in correct german language
brotmann86 11 months ago
Kinda funny that some among us call themselves superior to certain immigrants...
D0uble0h8 11 months ago
Americans failing the US citizenship test, least surprising thing ever.
MyTemporaryAccount88 11 months ago 2
During my year as an exchange student, I was shocked to notice when I mentioned the Cold War during a presentation for a 11th grade English class and people got confused because NOBODY in that class actually knew what the Cold War was. But then, that was in Texas...
pschierhorn 11 months ago
@pschierhorn Well you were in Texas ...
xEmilyyxox 10 months ago
Only 38% failed? If there's one thing our country is good at, it's failing tests.
LikaLaruku 11 months ago 18
lmao. 48 % can and 71 cant? Did you mean 48 can and 52 cant?
GOOD mental math.
ittybittyblanka 11 months ago
Also, very poor statement when you call the historians' comments an 'excuse'. Unless they're directly attempting to defend American ignorance, it's not an excuse, it's them attempting to explain a social trend within the United States. Academic studies on events does not instantly equal an opinion.
LunaticFringe20 11 months ago
"Why the Americans fought the Cold War." Jesus, I could write a whole book on that subject, what the hell is the easy answer?
LunaticFringe20 11 months ago
Actually, asking why we fought the cold war is a nebulous thing. It had more to do with paranoia than anything that resembled reality.
thirteendays13 11 months ago
That guy is so boring when he speaks it makes me want to fall asleep
Chloey39 11 months ago
I guarantee that the 38 percent that failed are a majority republican
spinnersmetal 11 months ago
I read the Newsweek article and they don't provide the actual wording of the questions or state whether or not it was multiple choice. Also, some of them were not easy at all. How many amendments are in the constitution? I didn't know that number. How many congressional and senate reps are there? Didn't know that exact number either.
dookdawg214 11 months ago
Americans. If you ask an American "Who is the Greatest American?", he would reply "Jesus Christ our Savior!"
(If you don't get this joke, you're an American.)
AnotherPervyWanker 11 months ago
History is an iffy thing. It's taught chronologically, so most people I know know everything before WWII and are knowledgeable in terms of current events, but I don't feel like it is a students fault that they didn't learn information on the Cold War, because there's a good chance they had no opportunity to learn about it. But seriously? Joe Biden?
darkalleyheroes 11 months ago
I thought it was the USA citizenship test was like the KKK entrance exam... you've gotta spell it!
whaddyareckon 11 months ago
yall kiddin me? you didnt learn about the cold war or slavery? not even a passing mention no? NO US history class? i went to a ho dunk public schol and even there we got us history in the 10th grade, starting in the 1600's til the present. if you didnt know we had slavery till the civil war, in fact, if you didnt know we HAD a civil war, its your own fault you got bad grades. yeah schools suck, and leave shit out, but sayin you didnt learn about slavery or the cold war....cmon
EncinoRecords 11 months ago
Personally I think Canadians would do better than many Americans on that test. Not because we are smarter, but Canadians tend to observe the US from a third perspective.
I find it dubious that Texas is rewriting history books.
I'm just saying.
:P
Joxman2k 11 months ago
i would probaly will. but im not american.
ptk265 11 months ago
i'm european and i'd got all but one questing wrong:
the cold war is a tric question nobudy fought thats why its the "cold war"
slim5782 11 months ago
@slim5782 fought it in nam, afghanistan, cambodia, korea......russians, too, they flew the migs in nam, early years anyway
EncinoRecords 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
dude. learned the ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE TWO WORLD WARS WAS PAINFUL . BUT I GOT AN A +. i'm happy that i'm from sweden because we pay 30% of our pay to the goverment so we have FREE healt care and education. i hope that america will soon have the same.
Brezzyfan545 11 months ago
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Brezzyfan545 11 months ago
Do you have to respond to "Why we fought the Cold War?" with the typical line or the truth?
MEpianist 11 months ago
@MEpianist do u guys get to learn about europe history???
Brezzyfan545 11 months ago
@Brezzyfan545
Yes. It falls under world history.
jxsilicon9 11 months ago
@Brezzyfan545 Yea, we cover the Renaissance and then pick it up around WWI, generally.
MEpianist 11 months ago
I think all voters need a civic literacy test before they can vote. Too bad this idea was supported by Tom Tancredo and it automatically mean that it is xenophobic, racist, discriminatory, anti-American, right-wing, and extremist...
Dantinus 11 months ago
who the fuck is this douche? dislike
hamzeeco 11 months ago
I just don't understand how we can responsibly navigate our future without knowing the correct history of our past.
AwohaliSagwu 11 months ago
I'm just saying. More Americans can name all three judges on American Idol but not many can name at least one Supreme Court Justice.
CHAOSoriginal 11 months ago
My high school history classes were a joke. Consisted of watching the Meg Ryan movie "I.Q." some baseball movie where a chick kills her lover, Zulus, and a for about a week we were assigned chapters to teach one another while our professor flirted with the teacher down the hall. We never went over anything beyond the industrial revolution and I couldn't tell you one thing I learned in that class about the industrial revolution. Ridiculous.
JPooleish 11 months ago
this guy is a snooooooze
StrawberryBigMac 11 months ago
I bet 100% Knew what a perk was on black ops
damon858 11 months ago
73 percent didn't know about the cold war.......the fucking cold war? I'm fucking 16 and I know about the fucking cold war, jesus christ this country is full of fucking RETARDS.
Joeyg143 11 months ago
gee hmmm when was independence day...hmmmm it's only the most broadcasted and celebrated national holiday ever...oh wait that's christmas...well i do know its early july....lot of people talking about...does it got somethin to do with america? nawhhhh
skwaag5233 11 months ago
why did you fight the cold war? nukes? fighting commies? fighting for freedom in europe like the middle east now?
canadian so don't hang me on the cross.
pornfartin 11 months ago
@pornfartin it was basically two nations whipping it out to see whose was bigger. We made more nukes they made more nukes, they planted nukes in Cuba(90 miles from US soil) and it scared us. We aimed nukes at them in parts of Europe and it scared them. We both decided it was not a good idea to fight eachother so we both gave up.
ChrisTripp 11 months ago
I'm not surprised with these results, look at all the cuts were making to education.
UndeadLight 11 months ago
I passed my citizenship test in 2009. Piece of cake. Nowhere near as hard as the British one, which I failed, with a weak 67 per cent correct. And I'm from Britain.
Of course, much more important than the actual US test is having $695 to buy your way in.
geffel 11 months ago
"73% couldn't correctly say why we fought the Cold War"
They know, it's just that "d) because Americans were retarded children who alternated between being scared of their own shadows and trying to keep up in a dick-measuring contest" probably wasn't on the answer booklet.
carygoleman 11 months ago
this guy is a BORING!
braydenbeautiful 11 months ago
I've taken a few of these... 100% every time.
dEdGrimley 11 months ago
well for the cold war it makes sense like for Vietnam or Iraq... There was no reason for the US to enter those wars
Melpheos1er 11 months ago
@Melpheos1er Iraq wasn't part of the cold war. Vietnam was to support a pro american government and keep it in place in a strategically important part of the world.
GhostInTheShell29 11 months ago
@Melpheos1er i meant that for the cold war, the argument is the same as for Vietnam and Iraq... Made no sense... Not that Iraq was part of the cold war...
And no ! It is a really really stupid idea to go to war to keep a government in place.
Melpheos1er 11 months ago
As far as the Cold War, I can't remember having a single class where we actually discussed it past the fact that it wasn't really so much of a war as a standoff. Most of the classes I had, we started off at when Jamestown was established, then hurried through everything. We rarely focused even on WWI, WWII (particularly Hitler and the Holocaust) was what my teachers and the end of grade exams were worried about.
beefchops2011 11 months ago
We took an informal version of the citizenship test in my American history class, and I passed with flying colors. They did not, however, teach us anything about the cold war or Desert Storm. We were taught about slavery (like, A LOT, the same material over and over again), the genocide of Native Americans, the Constitution and Vietnam.
Sunkisthappy 11 months ago
@Sunkisthappy Because slavey has impacted citizens in this country terriblely and still has a lasting effect, which most of you like to forget, when you go on your rants about black people this black people that fella.
esamuels35 11 months ago
@esamuels35 " Because slavery has impacted citizens in this country terribly and still has a lasting effect, which most of you would like to forget, " Liberals and Progressives in America will never let African Americans forget what happened because it impowers them.
chaumont20 11 months ago
haha blame it on the dumb ucla bitch!
shivamau5 11 months ago
This is like the Jim Crow Laws. There is NO REASON to test for citizenship.
Bellita1 11 months ago
This is like the Jim Crow Laws. There is NO REASON to test for citizenship.
Bellita1 11 months ago
@TheLostDemocracy - Do you mean a possible bureaucracy?
b017ni3 11 months ago
"You should know when the 4th of July is."
- Ana Kasparian
Maximiliare 11 months ago 56
shit i'm Canadian and we know more about the US than Americans... That's pretty bad (only for you not for us :D)
AdmiralofTheEmpire 11 months ago
We rank 24th in education for a reason..... *sigh*
Xenite227 11 months ago
its not a surprise. all they teach you about history is about slavery. i been learning the same imformation about slavery since 2nd grade. when i was in high school i still was learning about rosa parks. that all they teach people. besides who care US citizens shouldnt have to know this stuff.
knucklez92 11 months ago
@knucklez92 Your right, you missed a few grammar classes as well.
esamuels35 11 months ago
independent day is on the 4th a july right?
knucklez92 11 months ago
The figures on this survey may be artificially low due to the fact that one of those questioned is a Congresswoman from Minnesota and another is the former, half-term Governor of Alaska.
MichaelThomasMarion 11 months ago
But if you don't know anything about how your country is run, wouldn't that simply contribute to possible byrocracy?
TheLostDemocracy 11 months ago
great news, we should allow Obowma to throw another 77 billion into public education for the inner cities this current budget cycle, that would help! lmfao!!
genie0390 11 months ago
Last time I checked this test was for immigrants... not natives. A 5 year old won't pass this test...neither will an American born baby...but they are still an American citizen.
The ability of a Native born American to pass this test is not relevant to anything...
BenjaminFranklin2u 11 months ago
@BenjaminFranklin2u It means your all stupid is what it means, stupid.
derberg19486 11 months ago
@derberg19486 "your" ... you mean "you're". Stupid.
BenjaminFranklin2u 11 months ago 14
@BenjaminFranklin2u don't you mean A 5 year old would not pass the test? won't?
derberg19486 11 months ago
@derberg19486 What are you? Retarded?
Won't is a proper contraction, using "your" instead of "you're" is the wrong word(s). Stupid.
BenjaminFranklin2u 11 months ago
.....we didnt fight the Cold War. Thats what made it "cold"....
ennuiandthensome 11 months ago 2
I remember in High School, we never learned about the cold war because it wasn't "interesting" enough.... Oh but WW2, that was a blast!!!
I had to learn this shit all on my own and the retards sitting next to me thought they were getting the best education in the world...
Bah...
Farf90 11 months ago
@fnkyou2 that's probably couse it was current events when you were going through grade school
monsterbob1 11 months ago
to be honest, when I was in grade school, they never got that far in my american history class. they stopped at world war 2
fnckyou2 11 months ago
Canada Day July 1st !!!!!!! Woot!!!! That's all I need to know.
28stads 11 months ago
I would have thought more would have failed it! haha
Morons.
28stads 11 months ago
the fucks a cold war?
esquimalt1 11 months ago
The Republican American Citizenship test:
Is America awesome? [correct answer yes]
Should Chuck Norris be president? [correct answer yes]
Are you black/gay/Muslim/Arab/Hispanic/liberal/Marxist/Obama? [correct answer no]
niriop 11 months ago
We had a mock citizenship test at work last year, I passed with flying colors but the majority of people who range from 25-45, failed miserably. Myself, a temp, a college seasonal worker and two of my fellow full-time co-workers scored perfectly, their were a few mid-range scores but the majority were complete fails.
TheUSMetalhead 11 months ago
How cold was the cold war?
Anyone?
Domzdream 11 months ago
Im sorry TYT but this show sucks without Cenk
Vr4z1el 11 months ago
I can understand missing questions that you haven't covered since elementary/middle school. Maybe they forgot that fourth of July is independence day.Most Irish don't even know why the hell they're celebrating St. Patrick's day.
jxsilicon9 11 months ago
In history class they leave out a lot of information, such as the Cold War, slavery, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, genocide of Native Americans, the Articles of Conferderation, the Constitution's articles, and Vietnam. You know, the stuff we don't like to talk about.
CHAOSoriginal 11 months ago 50
@CHAOSoriginal
What grade though? I had all of that stuff in my American History class when I was in high school.
AmericanNohbuddy 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal what are you talking about? Ive learned about all of those
oJKBo 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal
I learned about all of that by middle school.
Mattm1986 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal Really? All that stuff was discussed in my history class. Maybe you just went to a shitty school.
Krauserowns 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal Oh really? In my history class we learned about the cold war, slavery, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the genocide of native Americans, the article of confederation, the constitutions articles, and Vietnam.
lilnicky492 11 months ago
@lilnicky492 Most do, but no one really pays attention since most people don't care. They just memorize the answers, put them in the blanks and forget about it for the rest of their lives.
CalicoVall 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal no they dont. you have to open the book if you wanna learn it.
ChrisTripp 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal Maybe in your history class.
RapistAsshole 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal
I think we're progressing. We've talked about America's history with Native Americans and right now we're on African colonization. My teacher is willing to badmouth America because he's honest
eminemisinthemafia 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal
Do we just get different text books and lesson plans on Guam? We covered all of that stuff fairly adequately.
elrapido5150 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal they don't leave that out. My teachers have been teaching all that since elementary school.
sarahvalder 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal
What are you talking about? I covered that in middle school.From my experience. Elementary covers geography and all that other fun stuff. Middle school covers most of the US history. And high school covers world history.
jxsilicon9 11 months ago
@CHAOSoriginal US history is a mandated class, and in US history, its hard to not mention indians, or slavery, or the coldwar....in fact, its literally impossible to understand US history without these things, so if your school DIDNT mention it, your school was your parents homeschooling you
EncinoRecords 11 months ago
@Solareffects
Nobody in Washington can even tell you why we fought the Iraq war.
jxsilicon9 11 months ago 2
My civics class 2 years ago couldn't recognize Joe Biden with a damn picture.
AmericanNohbuddy 11 months ago
I took practice citizenship tests for Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. As a resident of a commonwealth nation, I'm ashamed to say I failed the U.K. test miserably. The U.S. one, though, was remarkably easy. "Which ocean borders California?" "Life, liberty, and [blank]?" Despite gleaning most of my information of American history from cartoons, I still ended up with 80%.
VolatileReaction 11 months ago
The cold war is being fought right now, called global warming. Trying to warm up the planet so the homeless don't get cold at night, and I'm doing my part.
bluefootedpig 11 months ago
I'm Swedish and I know the answers to those questions...
Peonardon 11 months ago
@papasparks2009 you can't take away nautral citizanship. People were born here. How do you know that news week didn't test a bunch of idiots
bigstewProductions 11 months ago
@bigstewProductions Polls normally carry a margin of error. It would have to be extraordinarily wide for these numbers to be insignificant, and in such a case it wouldn't have been published in the first place because of its unreliability.
VolatileReaction 11 months ago
is it sad that I am Canadian, and I can answer all those questions?
Aquarius012988 11 months ago
*reads title*
Answer: No. My schools were SHIT at actually teaching me basic history other than the slavery issue. 6 years of history class in a fucking row!
luckstergal 11 months ago
IDEA ...... Take away natural citizenship for the Americans that could not pass the test.
papasparks2009 11 months ago
it's communist propaganda that messed with American brains, damn them LOL poor American people don't know which side is which, who is ruling the country, its those damn redcross bolsheviks, I tell ya:)
PR0H0LDEM 11 months ago
Americans are, by and large, ignorant, myopic and xenophobic.
Religion has turned much of this country into a bunch of mindless sheep.
judoyodan 11 months ago
Come on people....more than 6% probably christmas-treed the test. There is always a chunk of the people that don't even read the question.
mma171 11 months ago
Cold War was a contrived non-war to expand the power of the military industrial complex.
LordSnow69 11 months ago
@97bravada
It was a "war" between mainly the US and Soviet Russia
but it was a war of words and spying not a war of weapons
for more info go to Wikipedia
lasoripa 11 months ago
Some of those American citizens who failed the citizenship test probably long for the days of the Confederacy.
crowman1979 11 months ago
americans are a bunch of fat fucking retards who were convinced that the twin towers were taken down by some even more backwards retards who live in caves, they're so retarded that they just hand over billions upon billions of dollars to the wealthiest people, corporations and Israel without so much as asking why, they let their government constantly push them into the conflicts of other nations without so much as asking why, american citizen = epic retard FAIL
jumar1281 11 months ago
ok so minor poll here . How many people that watched this video are not actually americans??
Fireonmyhand 11 months ago
Hell, most American's don't read which saddens me.
ShadowGunner82 11 months ago
It amazes me that even though all the history you learn is American history, all the news is American news, the only politics you pay attention to is American politics, but still you get the answers wrong. Yet ask Europeans or Canadians and they would pass your citizenship test.
Ibis333 11 months ago 2
@Ibis333 Europeans know more about our history and our politics than we do. BBC News has more insight in current happenings in America than Fox News
ichleibemeinenvr6 11 months ago
@Ibis333 That's not true. You learn world history also. It might depend on the curriculum exactly what they are taught, but most basic schools here teach world history. And a lot of the time they are just taught to pass state assessment tests and not taught things that are really important. I find it funny that you're bashing America for this when your ignorant about what they even teach here. You're also just making an assumption that people in America only watch American news and politics.
24xEBK 11 months ago
I think it kinda works, we have idiots in the country, but we don't want more idiots in the country. I'd rather get rid of the idiots we have, but that's kinda unfair, but I want some sort of test in place.
itchykami 11 months ago
When my parents went to take the test to become citizens, they did not know who was the vice president.
Fact of the matter is, it's all history. I could do it but most people STUDY for the test. And they give you all the answers and questions on flashcards and some other papers.
The citizenship test is not hard, all you have to do is study for it and you'll pass.
magter3001 11 months ago
but history sucks to learn for most
First2ner 11 months ago
My only question is why the FUCK would I want to be a US citizen?
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
Would be interesting to give the exact same test to europeans, see if they know more about america than americans do.
Stormwern 11 months ago
Ok first of all, I grew up watching Card Sharks, and it was just a game of hi/low basically. The game he's describing is Family Feud. Just saying.
Second, this is just sad and reminds me of a survey done a few years back where Americans didn't know the earth revolved around the sun or that Judaism was older than Christianity, etc. Stupidity is cheered and rewarded in this country. Proof: 2 words - Jersey Shore.
DisturbedHavok 11 months ago
@DisturbedHavok I read 7 pages of comments and nobody is blaming Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. I thought they were to blame for everything. Especially people being stupid. Strange.
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 You can't "blame" Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News, et el... for the stupidity in American attitudes. Rather it’s the stupidity of American attitudes that are to blame for allowing Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News, et el... to spew false and twisted ideals as fact and truth through mass media.
Past surveys have showed that close to 50% of Americans believe that FoxNews is a reputable News Agency.
PirateFish1 11 months ago 12
@PirateFish1 " Past surveys have showed that close to 50% of Americans believe that Fox News is a reputable News Agency. " Only 50%, I thought it would be higher than that.
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 They're not to blame for people be stupid, but they're to blame for George Tiller and violent protests. They capitalise on stupidity, and perpetuate stupidity. I don't think that's any better.
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@Xerxes4242 I believe that Fox News viewers would do better on this test than MSNBC viewers. Just saying.
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 Prove it.
sweettater99 11 months ago
@sweettater99 " Prove it. " OK, who reads Newsweek more, MSNBC viewers or Fox News Viewers ?
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 They didn't poll Newsweek readers, they polled American citizens, they didn't say how. At any rate, I don't know who reads Newsweek. By the comments on FOX NEws, and the errors of their hosts, I doubt they do any reading at all.
sweettater99 11 months ago
@sweettater99 Newsweek is a Liberal publication so it stands to reason they polled Liberals. That why the results are not surprising to me at all.
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 Usually they randomly call American housholds.. Here are the results:
"And while conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats held their own, much of the political center has tuned out of the conversation about what it means to be an American, undermining the foundations of the country's future."
So you are wrong, both conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats did well, moderates not so much, but looking for facts isn't really on your radar, is it?
sweettater99 11 months ago
@sweettater99 The fact that conservative Republicans did well has got be a very ,very, big disappointment for you. Thank you for the research though. Peace
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20
Not really. Politics is obviously a big football game for you. There are no "sides" Epic troll fail.
sweettater99 11 months ago
@sweettater99 Football ? There are obviously "sides". Conservative and Liberal - Progressive. I'm glad they didn't ask that question. Liberals are supposed to be tolerent, so respect the fetish. So everybody wins.
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 Only those of limited intellectual means believe in liberal vs conservative as a defined line. There are actually four "sides" and most people are chimeras anyway. Most trolls know what they are talking about. What happened to you?
sweettater99 11 months ago
@chaumont20 Yes, but 80% of Americans also believe in a god, and they're wrong, so what does that say about beliefs?
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@Xerxes4242 " Yes, but 80% of Americans also believe in a god, and they're wrong. " Why are you bringing god into this. Of the 321 comments you are the first to bring up god. Why ?
chaumont20 11 months ago
@chaumont20 It was on my mind, and you seem to think Fox viewers are geniuses.
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@DisturbedHavok All I"m thinking when I watch Card Sharks is "holy shit these people are bad"
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@DisturbedHavok And another thing, Card Sharks was exactly how he described it. Watch 5 minutes of ANY episode and please correct your mistake.
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@Xerxes4242 48 out of 100 I believe is the number he used. That's the whole "SURVEY SAYS!" thing. That's Family Feud. They survey 100 people or however many and "48 say this".
Card Sharks is "Here's a 9 of clubs - is the next card higher or lower than a 9?" Maybe the Gameshow Network has reworked the classic Gameshow, I don't know because I don't have that network with my cable plan.
DisturbedHavok 11 months ago
@DisturbedHavok The first thing they do in Card Sharks, to determine if someone gets to play first or second, is do a survey question.
"How many housewives would cheat on their husband with Ronald Reagan"
One person answers and the other has to say if more or less people said yes than the first person.
Seriously watch a clip and you'll see:P
watch?v=_VD7LRNuvZU watch at 3:00 in!
Xerxes4242 11 months ago
@Xerxes4242 I stand corrected. I think the last time I saw the show, I was like 8 (over 20 years ago) and apparently I only remembered the part of the show I liked the most - the higher/lower part.
DisturbedHavok 11 months ago
fff I want to take these tests ;_;
Finlandperkele 11 months ago
I read the article. They're suggesting the mechanics of the US Govt system (inc all the States) are more complex & bureaucratic compared to individual European Parliamentary systems- which is true (not the EU Parliament though!). However that has nothing to do with it. It's down to culture & geography. Eg generally we get a broader amount of information in the media here compared to the US. That doesn't mean Americans are stupid, it means the info they're exposed to isn't always as informative.
MrDragon1968