Well I don't believe Americans are dumb at all. The video was made really to ridicule the average person on the street in the Unites States. However it does high light an important point, American public education does not have the ability to help people acquire general knowledge, awareness and clear understanding of current events and the video demonstrate the weakness.

From personal experience I have noticed most Americans lack information of geography and international political developments outside of their immediate surroundings. Does that mean American are stupid? No, it simply means that people are self-absorbed within themselves. Americans have the "we are the greatest country in the world" mindset and anything outside of the US is second rate and not as important. Its like, if we are the best, then can forget the rest, an attitude which has given Americans a bad name in some countries, typically labeled "the ugly American."

Nevertheless, America has had the economic resources to buy the best brains of the world. We became a great nation and remain that way because we can afford to import minds. While many countries suffer from brain drain or human capital flight of their most educated, the US mean while continues to be a recipient country of groups or individuals with specialized technical skills and knowledge. This incongruency can in part explain why we have a first place position among countries of the world, yet remains severely deficient in many other aspects.

Another possible explanation is specialization. The US public education system is designed to place greater emphasis on teching people to learn more and more, about less and less to pass some test and enter the workforce. Whereas European education is more holistic and all encompassing, forcing people to learn information unrelated to their specific fields. Which although gives people a overall, well rounded educational foundation, it waste time and slows down the process to earn money and make a living. Is that good or bad, well it all depends on how one looks at it. There are no right or wrong answers, only the one taht best works for you.

Nevertheless, this should be a wake up call for the US not to rest upon its laurels, but rather continue to actively seek and develop their human brain power from within, if are to remain on top and the edge to stay there. Unfortunately, the US in recent years has fallen and continues to fall in ranking among developed countres of the world. We rank 23rd in education, coming in far behind So Korea and Japan.

What can we do to reverse that trend? Well there are many opinions on how things should be done and the general consensus is yet to be defined. One thing we know for sure, we got to do something quick, otherwise the US will end up as one among the many other fallen world powers we have read and seen in history books.