#but we can do better both in material analysis and admitting our blind spots :)

[deermouth]

The "American schools don't teach us this!" excuse is bad for a whole host of reasons, but one I often think about is that "the American public school system" isn't a very meaningful term in this context. Curricula and standards vary widely by location. I attended high school in a city that prides itself on "progressivism," and while that certainly didn't preclude my history courses from being chock-full of imperialist propaganda, I do get the sense that they were at least more... comprehensive, than those of people I know who grew up in more conservative (often rural) areas. It's also worth noting that schools are funded by property taxes, creating a fantastically uneven distribution of resources even between different schools in the same municipality.

Anyways, obviously there are myriad problems with the institution of education in America as a whole, but I can't believe that every single person using this excuse went to The Worst, Poorest, Most Conservative School In The Nation. It's OK to admit you weren't paying attention when you were 14.