don't be offended, but ...

One of the current jokes going around among British soldiers is that we need a war once in a while if for no other reason than to teach Americans some geography. Also, what is the difference between an American and an American bomb? The bomb is smart enough to find Iraq. A little harsh no doubt. But as recently as November 2002 only 13% of Americans could correctly identify Iraq on a map. Americans are notorious for their ignorance of the rest of the world. I saw a great example of this while visiting Ohio. A kind friend of my mother had prepared invitations for my brothers' graduation party. The invitations started with a brief description of the two guys and a picture of Earth. The description read something like:

European born
American educated
Where will the Lord lead them?

Next to "European born" and "American educated" were lines pointing to the respective continents on the globe picture. The only problem was that the creator hadn't realized that the continent in the middle of the picture was not in fact North America, but Africa. The partially cloud-obscured land mass she assumed was Europe was actually the southern edge of Asia. My brothers' birth place was marked as being somewhere in the Indian ocean. Most people I know scoff at surveys that claim some number of Americans can't even find their own country on a map, but here was a college-educated professional who couldn't tell Africa from North America. Embarrassing.

Another thing that has bothered me recently is the special treatment of wealthy people by our justice system. The SEC and investigators for the DOJ have concluded that Martha illegally made $46,000 and tried to cover it up. Is she treated like other criminals? Of course not. She was allowed to drive up to the FBI's office on a street normally closed to traffic, had her prints and mug shot taken privately, was allowed to skip her court appearance, was released without bail and is allowed to travel at will. And unlike the photos of lesser thieves, Martha's mug shot is not available in public records. Also, consider the corporate swindlers who engineered the Enron debacle. The top executives made off with billions of dollars, but not one arrest was made. Both Bill Gates and Bill Clinton lied under oath, but no one in the DOJ would dare pursue perjury charges. Why do these people get off so easy in the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world?