Reader's Response #1

              Reading Michael Moore's opinion article "Idiot Nation" elicits many of his views on the US educational system. Moore thinks that over the past 20-30 years our educational system has been going downhill due to many different drawbacks that he explains in detail. He believes that the school systems are constantly issuing budget cuts due to the state spending more money on other departments which are seemingly more important than the education of our younger generations. He implies many harsh views upon the "stupidity" of our growing nation, because of the lack of knowledge in certain areas of basic learning. In one excerpt from Moore's article, "The very same politicians who are criticizing the US for it's test scores being lower than that of the Germans, the Japanese, and other countries, are the very same one's who are issuing the budget cuts to our schools...", he points out that the very people who are mad about the "lack of knowledge" in the US aren't doing anything to help it, rather, they are helping to promote it. If they clearly see that test scores are dropping and they are angered by that very same reason, then why wouldn't they do something to aid the situation? Instead they continue this very downfall by taking money from the one place that seems to need it most.
             Moore also gives some examples as to how the nation is seeming to become more lackluster in the knowledge department. "There are forty-four million people in this country who cannot read above the fourth grade level. How do I know? Because I read it." Moore begins to attack the higher ranking officials who cannot say that they have the same knowledge as that of a high school student and yet the are completely ignorant to that fact and thus criticize while they themselves are part of that criticism. In another part of Moore's article he interviews a game show host asking him questions that he may have asked on his very own show. One question in particular pertained to the subject of the to epic novels The Illiad and The Odyssey, and if the game show host knew what they were and what they might be about. He had no idea and responded with snarky comments such as "Why does that apply to me?" or "I have no clue". Why would we want the idols in our life to be smart mouthed and uneducated? That doesn't paint a very good picture for those younger one's to look up to. It makes them seem that they can coast through life with ease and act as if education is unimportant.
             While Moore's article may be somewhat harsh to those that he paints as uneducated and "stupid" it does elicit a clear point that our educational gains for our younger generations are quickly spiraling downward and it is our duty as a nation to cure this ailment. Why would we want to lessen the educational opportunities of these generations if they are some day going to run our country and make decisions for our further future? It just seems absurd to take that away from them when we should be giving them the most of what we have.