Received: from smtp.comcast.net (smtp.comcast.net [24.153.64.2]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id h1PDIMP14008 for <nifl-esl@nifl.gov>; Tue, 25 Feb 2003 08:18:22 -0500 (EST) Received: from ujwala (pcp02674897pcs.ewndsr01.nj.comcast.net [68.85.37.149]) by mtaout04.icomcast.net (iPlanet Messaging Server 5.2 HotFix 1.09 (built Jan 7 2003)) with SMTP id <0HAV00KLD8XND6@mtaout04.icomcast.net> for nifl-esl@nifl.gov; Tue, 25 Feb 2003 08:17:47 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 08:12:32 -0800 From: Ujwala Samant <usamant@comcast.net> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8612] Re: Re: War as a cross-cultural issue To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov Message-id: <00b601c2dce8$b43523a0$95255544@ewndsr01.nj.comcast.net> X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-priority: Normal References: <FLEIJPFJGNEBFCGDMABPIEDFCEAA.john_kamplain@albanyparkcommunitycenter.org> Status: O Content-Length: 1270 Lines: 23 I think there is a spectrum of knowledge of politics, history and geography amongst students in America. While most know a little bit (or a lot) about where their ancestors came from, international geography and history are not things they know very much about. An example, using the first Persian Gulf war. Students in a (primarily upper classmen and graduate students) class on cross-cultural psychology at Syracuse University wanted to know "What a Kuwait was?" when war was declared. They were even more shocked to know that their country was not helping create or defend a democracy, rather handing a kingdom back to one of the most spoiled and detested Emirs of the Arab world, all to keep their petrol prices down. Having lived here (America) for long periods of time since 1984, I have observed that the one thing that each conflict that America has been involved in has done for this country as a whole is, improved a knowledge of world geography. As far as God Bless America for being the country where a government sponsored listserv serves as a forum for discussion, please be aware that this also happens in most of Europe, in Asian countries such as India, etc. Perhaps we need to brush our own knowledge of the world? Regularly? regards Ujwala Samant
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