People always wonder why there is such a huge contradiction in US. On one hand they are so advanced in science and technology, on the other hand the general public, apart from a small educated minority are on average ignorant, backward, still in 19th century when it comes to religion and their other beliefs. It seems you have cut an advanced part of a European country and pasted it on a background of 16th century Europe, with all the fundamentalists, etc. The explanation is simple.
US is a land of immigrants. The huge mass of the immigrants during the 19th and 20th century were composed of the poorest most ignorant groups of the socieites they immigrated from. Wealthy and educated citizens of European countries don't need to escape to another country for a better life. It is the most downtrodden and desperate and poor groups that escape to another world for a better life. So this huge mass emigrated to US and they brought the whole backward beliefs and social structure with them to the new country.
On the other hand, because of the riches of the country and its democracy, top scientists like Einstein and writers like Salman Rushdie are attracted to the the land. So here we have the root of this contradiction, a general public who are still pretty backward and ignorant, still behind the average industrial European or Asian countries, and a minority elite, who are the top brains of the world in science and literature and arts.
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