What 10 things should every American know?

What is cultural literacy? What are 10 things you think every American should know? History, culture, popular culture, everyday life... what concepts should Americans understand fluently? As debate rages on issues of race, immigration, and religion, the question of what holds us together is more relevant than ever. Eric Liu of the Aspen Institute Citizenship & American Identity Program talks about cultural literacy and the need for a shared core of knowledge in 21st-century America.

[switzerlandful]

Hey! I thought I was gonna hear some stuff I needed to know.

[jamienixon]

Hirsch didn't just make up that list. He got shit on for it, but he was right. After interviewing professors, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals across the country he pulled it together and said that if our students and those that are disadvantaged are to be able to compete in the upper echelons of American society then these are the things they need to understand because these are the things that will be alluded to in white shoe firms. He didn't say it was right or wrong or good or bad. He just said that people that don't know these things will be at a disadvantage. He was right. I had an excellent teacher tell us "Know your Bible and know your Shakespeare and you will be able to understand nearly every allusion you'll come across in college." Eurocentric? Sure, but she was right.