And if everything I talked about in Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting Part 10 weren’t true, it gets even worse. Again, no summary from last time, just read it if you didn’t already.  Back into the fray about America as a country finally moving to sports.

Big, Dumb, Loud and Just Intensely Proud of It

Americans are not, by and large, a nuanced people. We like stuff, big, dumb and loud. Like our country, like our people. Like a Michael Bay movie. I was only half joking when I said that our culture is based around mom, baseball, apple pie, rampant obesity, Michael Bay movies and breast implants. It’s not really a joke.

We are a more or less ignorant (not the same as stupid) country.  Worse yet, we revel in our ignorance. Ignorant and proud, USA#1. Some appalling number of Americans can’t find their own home state on a map.  Most couldn’t locate a country in Foreignland ™ if their life depended on it.  And they don’t give a crap about either.

Hell, look at my geographical blunders when I talked about the UK. I’m just honest about not giving a damn because whether it’s England, GB or whatever is irrelevant to my overall point. And they are all part of Foreignland ™ anyhow so the details don’t matter to me. I told you I was an American in ways that often make me feel dirty.

We are not huge on education (outside of certain ethnic groups that focus on it as part of their local culture) and we rank horribly compared to most countries in that regard. In certain communities such as the urban black community (and some areas of the south), kids who get educated are looked DOWN upon by their peers.

They are considered Uncle Toms who sold out to the white man or kids who wanted that ‘fancy book learnin’ rather than working on the farm like his pappy and grandpappy before him.   Here I wish I were joking. Other countries realize that educating its populace is the path to global success.  In the US we would rather see them play sports.

Continue reading Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: Part 11