Ignorance is a plague

Iraq the Model is one of my favorite blogs. In this post, Mohammed has to endure a conversation with several men in a barber shop. He is frustrated by the mentality of the average Iraqi in Baghdad, and I can't help but notice that the problems Iraqis face are, in some respect, similar to problems here in the US:

...the guys were convinced that everybody wants to kill them supporting this belief with rumors and conspiracy theories that simple minded people love; they relieve the mind off the duty of making any effort to find answers and it allows them to not have to blame themselves for anything that goes wrong.
An Iraqi finds it so hard to admit his mistakes, not only that, he doesn't even want to review his history...

Ignorance is a plague nurtured by turbans that lack logic and knowledge and by media and political analysts who are keen to keep the people misinformed and to which truth is an enemy.

See... we're not so different.