Geography Schmeography: America and its Place in the World
May 16, 2006
As if we didn't need another illiteracy crisis in our midst: the National Geographic Society just released some troubling survey results in May. Our youth (ages 18-24) received an "F" for understanding the world and America's place in it. Take the Iraq war. What would seem to be around-the-clock media coverage has not translated into greater knowledge. Over 60 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 cannot locate Iraq on a world map. Another 70 percent are oblivious about the location of Israel or Iran. Just 1 out of 10 can locate Afghanistan as part of Asia. The Asian tsunami is a distant memory too. Only a quarter know where Indonesia is. They didn't fare any better in knowing much about American geography either. Just 50 percent could locate New York state on a map of the U.S. while just two-thirds could find Louisiana, site of America's most devastating natural disaster in 2005. Of those who were surveyed, just 14 percent thought learning a foreign language fluently was a necessary job skill.
Yes, I know that one must issue such survey results with caution. It's just a snapshot of what we may know, and statistics must always be analyzed with the appropriate salt shaker. But is any American really surprised by this? I shared the bad news with the class I teach on Opinion Writing at California State University, Fullerton, and one student responded with an attitude of geography schmeography. "Who cares," he began, "why should young people really care about the rest of the world if there isn't any practical application to work or family life?" Even the survey indicated that fewer than 3 out of 10 youth thought it "absolutely necessary" to know where countries in the news are located. I must admit that this immediately put me on the proverbial soapbox, but I tried to let him down gently.
I decided to frame the American ignorance in terms of my own experience. I told him that all Americans, including myself, live in a bit of a protective bubble. But unlike the boy in the bubble who suffered from an auto-immune disease, ours is a self-imposed bubble. We tend to follow the creed of "out of sight, out of mind." That's why 9/11 was such a shock to our system. We were stunned to be attacked from "out there," the world that seemed in 2001 to be so far removed from our realities at home. America at home felt safe and secure and the "out there" always seemed to be threatening, full of natural and man-made disasters. I also told him that ever since I was a child growing up in this country that had so much significance to the rest of the world (superpower and all that), that it behooved me to learn about the rest of the world. In part this is because we have a growing negative stereotype that America doesn't really care about the rest of the world unless it affects us directly. I don't think this stereotype is wholly true and that's why I believe so strongly that we need to challenge it by educating ourselves. My education will take the rest of my life. Granted, America as an idea and place is never neutral in terms of how the rest of the world views us. In a sense, just because of who we are, we'll always have to live with harsh stereotypes, but that doesn't mean we cannot work to overcome their harshest impacts. This National Geographic Society survey is a necessary reminder that we have a far, far way to go in our global literacy.
A Thank You to Keith Reinhard
Keith Reinhard, a podcast contributor to this P.O.V. site (coming on May 26th) , accepted the award as Distinguished Communicator for 2006 from the Department of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Keith and his wife, Rose-Lee, were both gracious and fun to be with at the May 5th dinner. I consider Keith a patriotic executive, whose work is just as important as any high-ranking diplomatic official. He's one of the top advertising executives of all time in America, but in his position as head of Business for Diplomatic Action and chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide, he has taken on the critical role of engaging the American business community with America's place and image in the world. I am truly inspired by his commitment and service to this country, and hope that I can keep up my energy and contributions at the pace he's set. Check out his award speech here.
