Americans and The World Map

A developed country takes anchor on the fact that its citizenry is well informed and highly educated people. Education breeds well informed individuals. Democracy and development stands at par with information since democracy stands under the premise that its citizens are intelligent enough to make their own decisions and are capable of leading the country towards development (Study in the USA, 2008).. As shown by the increasing influx of immigrants here in the United States taking a shot at the American dream, it is evident that they find our country a land of opportunity (CBS News, 2008). Plus the fact that more and more students choose to study here, we assume that we take pride in the quality of education that we have.

Now here is where my thoughts go in full circle, if a country under a democratic government follows the decision of the majority of the masses then we should have a population that is highly educated and well informed for democracy and development to work. Now given the survey that says that among 510 young Americans, 88% can't find Afghanistan on the map, this says something about the ideal "well educated people" that we wish to have. What's worse is that half of the surveyed youth can't even find New York or the key cities in the country.

The question why these young individuals can't read a map was answered by a contestant in the Miss Teen USA in 2006. She says that some people in this country don't have maps. That is true in a sense that there is still uneducated people ion this country. Maybe she said that in a symbolic way. Perhaps the answer of the contestant in Miss Teen USA serves as a wake up call to all Americans that Education here in our country is deteriorating. Though factors such as being caught up in the moment gripped in fear and stage fright, we cannot take away the fact that it was indeed a dumb answer. Now, given that it wasn't her best answer, the thought that she represents the youth and how they think is indeed very disturbing.

Young Americans being the future leaders and citizens who will run this country should know its country first. There where a lot of criticisms to Miss Teen USA's answer in Youtube, the papers and even random individuals who are angry with her answer. But I think we should not be blaming her for such answer because she is a product of our education system and she should serve as a mockery to all of us. She is the portion of the youth that the survey pertains to. We should not ridicule the youth but instead make ways for them to reflect and improve themselves.

Globalization is one of the reasons why our youngsters ought to know the map. The boundaries of countries are growing thinner and economies are highly dependent with one another, thus there is a need for us to explore other countries to make our economy grow. If our youth can't even find places outside America then how will globalization work? I don't mean to sound like a fanatic of globalization but it is the reality that we must face (CBS News, 2008). The world is embracing it and America, being one of its promoters should help its youth build a good future upon the foundation that we have laid out for them.

Not being able to locate a place in the map reflects the poor education in this country. Perhaps it is now time to think if the money that we spend on wars with other countries is worth it when our young can't even find the country where we spend billions with. Education is important for democracy and development, and even if the survey only accounts for a small portion of the youth we can't hide the fact that this small portion can reflect a wider scale of ignorance.
In a nutshell, the survey tells us that there is a need to improve our education and our people.

Reference

• Study in the USA, (2008). Understanding American Education. Date Retrieved January 27, 2008.
• CBS News. (2008). Poor Marks For U.S. Education System. Date Retrieved January 22, 2008.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poor-marks-for-us-education-system/