For example, frighteningly few know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and most think the words “Arab†and “Muslim†are pretty much interchangeable. They aren’t. So here’s a very brief primer aimed at raising the level of knowledge about the region to an absolute minimum.
My only complaint with the post is that the author stops at 10 items. There's a lot more we should know about the Middle East (I'm counting myself here, too) than we do.
One thing my limited travels outside the U.S. have taught me so far -- people outside the U.S. often know as much, if not more, about our politics as we do. But it's rare for Americans to be as well-informed about politics in other countries -- any other country -- as they know about us.
Now, I understand part of this: To be perfectly equitable, we'd have to be well-informed about politics in a lot of other countries, whereas we're just one country. But most people I've talked to in the U.S. often have no idea even about politics or culture (aside, maybe, from sports) in Canada or Mexico -- much less anywhere else. I understand we all suffer from information overload, but I suspect we could do with a little more news and information about, say, Europe and a little less coverage of celebrity gossip.
What every American should know about the Middle East
Some basics about religion and ethnic groups that most people in the U.S. probably don't know.
My only complaint with the post is that the author stops at 10 items. There's a lot more we should know about the Middle East (I'm counting myself here, too) than we do.
One thing my limited travels outside the U.S. have taught me so far -- people outside the U.S. often know as much, if not more, about our politics as we do. But it's rare for Americans to be as well-informed about politics in other countries -- any other country -- as they know about us.
Now, I understand part of this: To be perfectly equitable, we'd have to be well-informed about politics in a lot of other countries, whereas we're just one country. But most people I've talked to in the U.S. often have no idea even about politics or culture (aside, maybe, from sports) in Canada or Mexico -- much less anywhere else. I understand we all suffer from information overload, but I suspect we could do with a little more news and information about, say, Europe and a little less coverage of celebrity gossip.