I lose.
For some reason, foreigners believe prostitution is illegal, and despised, in the U.S. In fact, prostitution is so central to our national culture that small brothels are attached to most public facilities and retail businesses. Just look for the door marked “Women”! (Or the door marked “Men,” according to your preference.)
That is a good question—inasmuch as your statement is actually a question. 
I don’t see it as a case of lowered expectations; rather, I see it as a case where it would be wrong for me to hold someone else to a standard I am unwilling to meet. Of course, by “I” I mean “Americans.” I don’t disagree; I think I just see it a bit differently.
I never said it was silly! 
It would have been silly if you had insisted that it was indeed a valid analogy. Instead, you brought up a valid line of discussion on the point in question; sometimes one needs hyperbole to get people to think.
I won’t be surprised, but I will be distraught. When one has a system of “absolutes,” for lack of a better word, one will reach a point where they can’t be reconciled, and that means tough choices. In this case, however, we don’t have competing absolutes: we’ve right arrayed against traffic enforcement. I say “Keep the paradox, fuck the cameras.”
Okay, let me give this a shot:
The Bacons, Francis and Roger: One of them was an early scientist who died trying to stuff a chicken with snow, right? I think that was Francis…
Isaac Newton: Wrote Principia Mathematica and father of physics. Also an alchemist, and spent the latter part of his life trying to find the Philosopher’s stone.
Adam Smith: Wrote Wealth of Nations, father of economics.
Michael Faraday: I know a Faraday cage is a bronze mesh cage that blocks out background radio signals. I saw that on Mythbusters.
David Hume: A philosopher. Can’t say more than that, which is sad, because I’m probably related to him at some remove: my last name is Hume.
John Stewart Mill: “John Stewart Mill, of his own free will, on a half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.” That’s it, but at least it’s from a Monty Python song.
James Clerk Maxwell: No clue.
Charles Darwin: Wrote Origin of the Species, father of evolution. You have him on your money, which is awesome.
So. How dumb am I?
Less than five out of ten, dude.
Be Canadian. You’ll know about the US (from the sheer glut of news that spills over the border) and the UK (because your own government follows the UK model). Thus:
House of Commons = House of Representatives (representation by population).
House of Lords = Senate (chamber of sober second thought; elected in US, appointed in UK and Canada).
Prime Minister = Head of Government. US president (Bush), UK prime minister (Blair), Canadian prime minister (Harper).
Head of State = US President Bush, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen, while head of state of Canada, is represented in Canada by Governor-General Michealle Jean.
So some differences (Head of State and Government are the same in the US, but not in the UK or Canada), but many similarities. All three nations theoretically have a tricameral legislature. A bill becomes a law after being passed by all three “houses.” In the UK and Canada, Royal Assent is the third passing (after the Commons and the Senate); while in the US, a bill can originate from either the House, the Senate, or the President (thus the third passing can be any of the three bodies). Additionally, in the US, any of the bodies can send the bill back to its originator for changes. Well, in Canada at least, the Senate can send a bill back to the Commons for changes too, as can the Queen’s representative.
In practice, Canada and the UK have a specific process; unlike the US, where a bill can originate in any of the three “houses.” The Queen, for example, would never originate a bill, unlike the President; and the Senate/Lords rarely do, unlike the US Senate. Most bills originate in the Commons; and if passed by that body after three readings and debate (just like the US), go on to the Senate/Lords. If passed by that body (again, three readings and necessary debate), the bill goes to the Queen (or Governor-General, in Canada) for Royal Assent. This is generally never withheld; it is a rubber stamp process at this point (again, unlike the US President, who has vetoes, and line item vetoes, and such). Anyway, after receiving Royal Assent, the bill becomes a law.
This is a very general explanation, and I’m sure that a few Dopers more knowledgeable than me would have some detailed corrections. But the point is that the structure of government isn’t terribly different whether in the US or a country that follows the UK model. Neither the Queen nor the President is a dictator, each is answerable to the people through at least one popularly elected house, and nothing becomes a law until all three “houses” agree on it.
The President can’t directly introduce legislation to the Congress; that ability is restricted to members of Congress only. However, he can have his party introduce the legislation for him. The President also has some lawmaking authority through the use of executive orders, which apply to agencies of the executive branch.
Thanks, Brian, the correction is much appreciated. Anne, take note.
Around here the biggest American cultural export is World Wrestling Federation. My student never heard of George Washington but all know Stone Cold Steve Austin. (Did I get that right?)
Wonderful.
I wouldn’t agree with this characterization of the President’s power. He has a veto, but is not part of the legislature. The President’s assent is not necessary for a bill to become law. Once the Reps and Senate pass a bill, it become law unless the President vetos it. If the President takes no action, the bill becomes a law after 10 days. See: US Constitution, Article I, s. 7.
By contrast, the Queen’s Royal Assent is necessary for a bill to become law in both Canada and the UK. If the two houses of Parliament pass the bill, and she (or her representative do nothing), the bill never becomes law.
After reviewing the link posted by Northern Piper, I have to agree with him. Maybe I’ll just shut up now.
I remember being shocked when some of my 5th grade students (in Korea) did not know how many states there were in the US. But then again, I couldn’t tell you how many provinces there are in Korea if my life depended on it.
I also remember when I was in Norway, an American friend and I were sitting in a cafe when two men started talking to us and somehow the topic moved to the general ignorance of Americans when it comes to the rest of the world. They asked us, “Do you know all the countries in Europe?” My friend shot back, “Do you know all the states in the US?” I thought this was rather arrogant.
Do I have a point? I dunno. What should anyone be expected to know about a country that’s not theirs?
That is so depressing, I think I’m going to go cry myself to sleep. Why is it always the absolute worst stuff that gets exported?
I am a girl. (Doesn’t make name make that clear? I think this is the first time anyone’s ever thought I was a guy.) I’m not exactly joking, I have had people ask me that. Maybe they were joking.
The top 4 questions I probably get about America are, in no particular order:
- Is America nice?
- Is it cold/hot in America? (depending on current weather)
- America is better than Bulgaria, isn’t it?
- Things are cheaper in America, aren’t they?
My answers to 1 & 2 are the same: “well, America is very big, so some places are nice/hot/cold, and some places aren’t.”
#3, I say that there are good and bad things about both.
#4 is absolutely hysterically funny, Bulgaria is so much cheaper than the US that I’m going to die of sticker shock when I go home. I tell people that the US is much, much more expensive, but people have more money. (Some people refuse to believe this, and go on to complain about how expensive everything in Bulgaria is.)
OTOH, I would expect a British or Australian person to know a hell of a lot more about the US than a Bulgarian. I think what I would expect depends a lot on exactly where this hypothetical non-American comes from.
I certainly think it’s something everybody should know and understand the context of - but not because of its position in American history, but of world history.
For clarification in the sober light of morning, Miller, that’s a good score on the scale I had in mind (at 3 a.m.)!
Poor James Clerk Maxwell though - the greatest little-known scientist ever.
By whom?
What would I expect them to know or what should I expect them to know?
Should, the same as about, say, China.
Would: the names of at least 30 states (we had an embarrasing moment when a Grad School teacher added a blind map of the US to a test in Quantum Chem; the American teacher filled correctly only 26 states, the American student got even less; the foreigner who did worse managed 43 and all of us foreigners pointed out that the hand-drawn blank map was missing Maryland and Rhode Island). Names of a ton of American performers; I’d expect them to mistake many non-American performers for American. The name of the Prez, VP and at least one more Cabinet member (there are about as many jokes about Condi here as there). The (probably misunderstood, see “chicken song”) lyrics to quite a few songs by American performers. Which oceans bathe the Continental US and where are Hawaii and Alaska located. That you guys have some seriously big ships and they tend to travel in seriously big fleets. And of course, the cast and history of a ton of sitcoms and series.
OK, for the sake of it, I just tried to see how many states I could type out in a list within a couple of minutes, before I started faltering:
41. The missing ones were Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming.
Congratulations, did you place them correctly too? I get mixed up with all those square places…
But really, it’s kind of funny that many people have to think about it but we’ve heard pretty much every one in a movie or another - when they’re not in the news.
Oh, and a caveat: my answer above applies to people who travel through life with their eyes open. They don’t have to be eddycamated, but they should watch TV or movies or listen to the radio or read newspapers (even if it’s only the sports section, which features NBA rankings). People who go through life “like the figurehead through the sea”, as my merchant-captain grandfather liked to put it… heck, those don’t even know the name of our president!