Michael Moore Idiot Nation Summary

American Society: Careless and Mediocracy
Are we the dumbest country on earth? Well, apparently we hold that tittle according to Michael Moore an Oscar winner who mentioned it in his Idiot Nation essay (124). Moore makes a clear and well defined points, which includes the reality of the United States citizen's and where they are heading, not just as individuals, but as a nation. To thrive, a nation needs a great foundation that holds and builds up each brick. However, if the foundation is damaged in losing its sight of the goal then, it will not be able to hold and build the greatest nation of this world. In addition, the bricks, which are the citizens will be defective and therefore easily crumble down. This is the scenario that the United

State, will be facing if it continues the way it's proceeding. Even though America is the land of the free, where each person has the freedom to do what they desire, America is becoming a nation of idiots, run by idiots, because people prefer to be ignorant. This is leading to society wasting time with unimportant achievements, which in turn is leading to a nation not only not moving forward, but a nation that is falling from its long held position as the greatest country in the world. As a result, there is an abundance of careless and mediocrity in the United States. This is leading America to its certain end by welcoming ignorant as of opposed to rejecting idiocrasy.
America is the land of the free, a freedom to do what each person desires, but this free will is making the American society an idiot nation that portrays themselves as an ignorant nation because people are attracted to people who seem like victims, a new type of ignorance.

In Rose essay A Just Wanna be Average he mentions how he becomes ignorant due to seeing his grandfather and father as victims. “My grandfather had lost his leg in a stockyard accident. Now my father too was crippled”. (5) An analysis of the word “crippled” reveals that Rose saw his grandfather and father as victims because of their physical handicap, which in turned, mentally handicapped him. This mentally handicap kept him from reaching out, out of the vocational sphere. However, when his father dies, he realized that he had logged up too many years of scholastic indifference (5). Meaning that the victimizing, ignorance had ended and therefore he was able to see beyond what has kept him in the same sphere. Being attracted to ignorance plays an important role in the lives of Americans because, like Rose, he became ignorant due to victimizing others and to an unconsciously extent victimizing himself. Another reason why American portray themselves as ignorant is because they tend to compare themselves with others and it makes them feel better of

themselves.
Even though, America is the land of the free, a freedom that self-victimize each other with ignorant, America is becoming a nation of idiots, run by idiots, because Americans like ignorance and people find ways to portray themselves as ignorant. “For although I was a very good student, I was also a very bad student. I was a ‘scholarship boy, ’a certain kind of scholarship boy. Always successful, I was always unconfident” (Rodriguez E-pages). Richard Rodriguez the author or The Achievement of Desire portrayed himself as a scholarship student making him less to the other students. “The scholarship boy reaches a different conclusion. He cannot afford to admire his parents. (How could he and still pursue such a contrary life?) He permits himself embarrassment at their lack of education”. (Rodriguez) Meaning that this nation is becoming a nation of idiots, run by idiots because people portray themselves as ignorant to fit in with their foundation. Again, an unstable foundation that creates defective walls. Rodriguez new of the difference between educated and non-educated, but he preferred to portray himself as ignorant to feel confident because only with people who are not educated regardless of their relationship he feels confident.
In addition, to enjoying and finding ways to be ignorant Americans create a situation for themselves that will allow them to see themselves as achievers when in reality they are wasting their time with unimportant things. Like Moore mentions, “ I once heard the linguist and political writer Noam Chomsky said that if you want proof the American people aren't stupid, just turn on any sports talk radio show and listen to the incredible retention of facts” (122). What Moore meant to mean of what Chomsky said is that Americans are able to achieve things, that they are not idiot. However, the things that they are able to achieve in the end it doesn't benefit them or the nation in any positive way. In other words, Americans are wasting their time in being knowledgeable about things that aren't important and that they keep placing themselves in those situations to learn more of unimportant things to gain a false sense of achievement. If “…the pioneering work of Noam Chomsky, who has become almost synonymous with the study of generative grammar in general…” (Parker and Riley 47) made the connection of Americans are not stupid, rather ignorant in learning things that are not beneficial. False achievements marked a turning point in the history of Americans. For example, Malcom X said, “In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there-I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional” (189). To put it another way, American keep placing themselves in situation of ignorance that only achieves wasteful outcomes as was the case for Malcolm X taking him to prison. This outcomes turn into wasteful material that cannot keep the walls together, it will not keep the bricks sticking together, but separates them and makes them apart from each other, which is where the nation is heading.

After American waste valuable time on these situations it often prevents them from moving forward and advancing in areas where other nations are thriving.

For example, Catalonia is thriving in arts and crafts. “From pottery and ceramics, to leather, a rich mix of art and artisanship offer an opportunity to appreciate some of the traditional customs blended with a young, artistic twist”. (Art and Craft) Catalonia is benefiting not just economically by trading these arts and crafts, but also teaching the young about traditions. As compared to the United States where those values are lost and people are replaced by machines because people prefer to be ignorant. In addition, India is thriving in the publishing industry. “We are a different phenomenon, we have so many thousands of publications in print, while publication is a dying industry across the world”. (Publishing Industries) Meaning that India is benefiting like Catalonia from the traditional ways. In addition, India doesn’t have the resources that the United States has which is technology, but that doesn’t stop them from thriving because Americans don’t get the best out of their resources like India does. In India the few who own an IPod use it to read eBooks and get more knowledgeable and in the United States gadgets are used for social networking and media which in the end doesn’t benefit them in acquiring any knowledge. Because in America there is a “purchasable education”. Now in days, the name of the school a

student attends guarantees his or hers success. “Yale and Harvard. Princeton and Dartmouth. Stanford and Berkely. Get a degree from one of those universities, and you’re set for life” (Moore 125). The general argument made by the author in his work is that a school doesn’t stop ignorance because all of these universities offer a “purchasable education”. Moreover, the author inferred that if your name correspond to any of those university it gives that person an automatic ticket to run the country (123)
Because America is lacking in areas where other nations are thriving it is becoming a nation of idiots, run by idiots due to their insulated ignorant, which is making the nation fall from its long held position as the greatest country in the world. The commander in chief of any country should be well prepare to make knowledgeable decisions and not take the country to a failed war like George W. Bush did. “After spending $2 trillion, unfunded, and tens of thousands of people being killed or disabled to take out Saddam Hussein, is either Iraq or the Middle East now a safer place?”. (Bee) Meaning that the decision to get into war was failed because it damaged the infrastructure of the United States by spending money that they didn’t have leading to a recession that impacted greatly the country and what is worse, by losing or disabling American citizens. Also, the author infers that even though, the United States intervened to take out Saddam Hussein the region is still unsafe. So, it was an unknowledgeable decision and useless to both nations, which that had severe consequences to the United States. The world started changing it perspective of the United States which this could be expected from a president who is a mediocre. “Our Idiot-in-Chief does nothing to hide his ignorance-he even brags about it. During his commencement address to the Yale Class of 2001, George W. Bush spoke proudly of having been a mediocre student at Yale. And to the C Students, I say you, too, can be President of the United States!” (123) Meaning that any mediocre can run the country and lead it to fall from its long held position as the greatest country in the world.

(con) So it is clear that although America is the land of the free, a freedom to do what each person desires, America is becoming a nation of idiots, run by idiots for two main reasons. First, people prefer to be ignorant. But most importantly, society is wasting it’s time with unimportant achievements, which is leading to a broken country and a dysfunctional society