When I compare other countries to us, like anything else we have certain strengths and weaknesses. We could learn a lesson from many countries when it comes to education and how they do it, but we have too much blind pride to change it. Take a lesson from Finland, they know how to educate. I also notice the lack of litter and the cleanliness. Here there are tons of garbage along our roads, highways, etc. Our cities are filthy and dirty. We also have certain things that are better here. If that touches a nerve, get over it. The first step to becoming great is noticing all your faults.
What are the faults in those socialist countries? So long as we are noticing faults.
There is no such thing as a utopia. Besides, if we actually raised academic standards, a certain group would cry racism when they get left behind. Don't believe me?
This dates back to the Gratz vs Bollinger case that went to the supreme court.
Case:
The University of Michigan used a 150-point scale to rank applicants, with 100 points needed to guarantee admission. The University gave underrepresented ethnic groups, including
African-Americans,
Hispanics, and
Native Americans, an automatic 20-point bonus towards their score, while a perfect SAT score was worth 12 points.
[2]
The petitioners, Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, both white residents of
Michigan, applied for admission to the
University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Gratz applied for admission in the fall of 1995 and Hamacher in the fall of 1997. Both were subsequently denied admission to the university. Gratz and Hamacher were contacted by the
Center for Individual Rights, which filed a lawsuit on their behalf in October 1997. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against the University of Michigan, the LSA, James Duderstadt, and Lee Bollinger. Duderstadt was president of the university while Gratz's application was under consideration, and Bollinger while Hamacher's was under consideration. Their class-action lawsuit alleged "violations and threatened violations of the rights of the plaintiffs and the class they represent to
equal protection of the laws under the
Fourteenth Amendment... and for racial discrimination."
Like
Grutter, the case was heard in District Court, appealed to the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and asked to be heard before the Supreme Court.
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Yes, a certain minority group led by the Al Sharpton types argued that that minority group should be accepted based on color of skin, even if they tested lower.
The point is many of those European countries do not have the mass diversity and politically correct politicians making decisions.
That, is the main problem in this country. Too many of these damn politicians (including republicans) make all of their decisions based on political expediency regardless of whether or not it is good for the country or not.
That, is the problem.