Elite Ignorance

In Sam Cooke's classic 1959 hit "Wonderful World," the lyrics downplayed formal learning with lines like, "Don't know much about history ... Don't know much about geography."

Over a half-century after Cooke wrote that lighthearted song, such ignorance is now all too real. Even our best and brightest -- or rather our elites especially -- are not too familiar with history or geography.

Both disciplines are the building blocks of learning. Without awareness of natural and human geography, we are reduced to a sort of self-contained void without accurate awareness of the space around us. An ignorance of history also creates the same sort of self-imposed exile, leaving us ignorant of both what came before us and what is likely to follow.

In the case of geography, Harvard Law School graduate Barack Obama recently lectured that, "If we don't deepen our ports all along the Gulf -- places like Charleston, South Carolina; or Savannah, Georgia; or Jacksonville, Florida ..." The problem is that all the examples he cited are cities on the East Coast, not the Gulf of Mexico. If Obama does not know where these ports are, how can he deepen them?

Obama's geographical confusion has become habitual. He once claimed that he had been to all "57 states." He also assumed that Kentucky was closer to Arkansas than it was to his adjacent home state of Illinois.

In reference to the Falkland Islands, President Obama called them the Maldives -- islands southwest of India -- apparently in a botched effort to use the Argentine-preferred Malvinas. The two island groups may sound somewhat alike, but they are continents apart. Again, without basic geographical knowledge, the president's commentary on the Falklands is rendered superficial.

We could write a book of Obama gaffes, which the liberals and media have ignored.

Examples: when Obama said Navy “Corpse-man”, as he clearly didn’t understand how to pronounce corpsman, or know what a corpsman is.

He claimed to be a White Sox fan, but couldn’t name a single player, past or present, as a favorite.

He also said he went to White Sox games at “Cominskey Park”, pronounced with an “N” in it. Any real baseball fan, Sox fan or not, knows that the White Sox played in “Comiskey Park”, with no “N” in it.

He indicated that there were 57 states in the union.

These may be little things, but they show just how much someone is lying and trying to pass themselves off as something or someone which they are not.

Contrast some Obama gaffes with the liberal reaction to Dan Quayle misspelling potato, or George W. Bush not knowing who the president of some obscure country was.

Contrast with the liberals completely making up what Sarah Palin said about seeing Russia from Alaska. You actually can see Russia from Alaska. Big Diomede Island is two miles across the Bering Strait from Little Diomede Island. Big Diomede is Russian territory, while Little Diomede belongs to Alaska. The media went into meltdown mode over that, and Tiny Fey’s satire about seeing Russia from Sarah Palin’s house has become the standard quote attributed to Sarah Palin herself, used to show how stupid she allegedly is.

As a middle school History/Social Studies teacher for many years,I’m happy to say I taught what the kids need to know. In most WA schools, US history is taught one year in Middle School (origins through the Civil War)and two years in High School.(Reconstruction-Cold War then a year of current world problems)
I loved teaching early US history. Especially the Constitution. We would go away from the text book and spent usually 6 weeks on the Constitution. I’d tell my 8th graders “by the end of this unit, you’ll know more about the Constitution and our Government than most of your parents.” I’ve heard from many former students over the years who have thanked me for the knowledge they learned about our country in my classes.
As a principal now, I make sure that our history and geography is being taught correctly. Not focusing on the liberal agendas or political correctness.

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