So the flags at half mast will look silly tomorrow.

[Porcupine]

A very large number of americans don't really know who president Ford was. People under 35 wouldn't remember him at all. The flags are probably scheduled to be at half staff through tuesday.

Tomorrow and the next day a great many people are going to see the US flag at half staff and connect it to the media hoopla about Saddam's death. Then they are going to wonder for just a minute. Any reporting of the 3000th dead US soldier or the implications of how Ford got to be president just got bumped off the airwaves. So why are those flags down?

Flags at half staff for Saddam. It'll happen.

[Syncronaut Seven]

1. That's hillarious.

But seriously, barring the old guy and the tool (you decide which is which) I think we lost something more valuable tonight.

I'm very sad.

[uppityperson]

9. I am total agreement with you on all of what you wrote here

[NYCGirl]

2. No, they're at half staff for James Brown. NT

[EFerrari]

3. Oh, no. You're right. n/t

[Left Is Write]

4. A "very large" number of Americans are unfamiliar with President Ford?

People under 35 wouldn't remember him? Not as president, of course, but people are capable of knowing about presidents who served before their births and during their childhoods.

My husband is 32 and quite familiar with Ford. Interestingly, I'm 40 and able to be cognizant of LBJ and Nixon.

[LibraLiz1973]

5. I'm 33 and I know who he was

I'd be scared of anyone under the age of 15 who didn't know who just died.

[KitchenWitch]

6. Thank you!

Let's give our education system a little bit more credit.

[noamnety]

7. As an educator

I'm not sure how much credit the system deserves.

I was filling in for a government class last year of high school seniors - an elective where none of them needed another social studies credit, so they were there because they had an interest in the subject. And they were intelligent kids, mainly honors type students. I asked them if they knew what Iran-Contra was. Nobody had ever heard of it, except one girl, who said "wasn't that something to do with Lincoln?"

At least where I teach, they don't go into Vietnam or beyond at all in the history classes - the curriculum just stops when it gets too close to critiquing people who might still be in power.

[Porcupine]

8. I remember Chevy Chase not Ford. I'm 41.

I have no actual memory of the Ford administration other than Chevy Chase stumbling around Saturday Night Live. I was an unusually politically aware kid as I had a paper route at age 12 and would read the paper every day. Most kids payed no attention.

I can tell you that people in their 20's do not talk politics almost as a rule. It's not an issue other than "Bush sucks." Awareness of the larger issues and the history of same is rare. Most of the populace even today could not identify one issue associated with Gerald Ford; I sure can't.

Americans are deliberately and willingly ignorant.

[Raine]

10. I agree

for one thing they have been discussing Ford for days now. Anyone who isn't aware that the flag is down cause a US president died (whether they know anything about him or what he did) is hopeless anyway.

EDIT: Added word for clarity.

[Obamarama]

11. Oh good frickin' grief....give people a little more credit than that.

I will be the first to contend that Americans, in general, are ignorant about world and geo-political events beyond the surface.

Yet, I don't think we are so far gone and out of touch with reality that there will be people who think we are flying flags at half staff for Saddam Hussein.