Geography itself is no longer taught in most school systems in Massachusetts. It has been cut as a course itself and instead it is supposed to be covered in history classes. With so much to cover now in history classes (history, social studies, civics and geography), it can be hard to incorporate geography all the time. Adding to this though I think has to be our culture. The regular news channels especially seem to glaze over international affairs, not every really touching on anything that does not affect the US directly and spend time instead on local scare tactic stories, entertainment, sports or "special reports".
I think that if the media did more to inform the general public about the rest of the world, your average American would have a better sense of what is going on outside our borders. It is truly tragic watching major news stations and their 5, 6 and 11pm news reports. It just seems to create this little bubble of reality which never really seems to take into consideration the greater global perspective. Staying on top of world affairs is not a part of our most accessible news outlets. Also, the figures which seem to be celebrated in our media culture are not the Renaissance people, it's the everyman or the flawed, but mildly intelligent supporting characters. Women are portrayed as logical or even remarkably successful, but with their logic comes a husband who is a goofball or with their amazing success comes holes in their love life or personal relationships. Nothing is all encompassing.
We are also taught to tell our students that success is not an option and that effort equals achievement, but pop culture does not really reflect that. It shows people who make minimal effort receiving many of the perks of life. We celebrate making a quick buck, getting by with the skin of your teeth, getting overpaid and placing our self worth on material possessions. Shows like my Super Sweet 16 where girls barely out of Stride Rites get cars retired men have always dreamed about is painting such a skewed view of how one obtains the riches of life. We are not shown images of the strife others go through to get where they are, we are not shown how it takes effort to be a successful human beings and we are not shown how to empathize with the rest of the world. Why would I need to know where Afghanistan is if there is a sale at Nordstrom?
I don't like to say it, but the US has always reverted to an isolationist approach when times are tough and I think it has created a culture of people who are wearing blinders because of it. We do not know about geopgraphy because based on our culture, it does not have any direct affect on us. I am not saying this is true of everyone, it is not at all. Our media does not always reflect that though, you have to put effort in to get to the juicy bits. You cannot be watching a movie and then flip the channel and hope to get a good well-rounded new report. Why? What is the media trying to accomplish? Why are our most powerful engines of communication trying to make us daft and numb?
