Obama in Laos: Americans Too ‘Lazy’ To Learn About Other Parts of the World

Barack Obama, speaking to students in Luang Prabang, Laos, on Wednesday afternoon:

"I believe that the United States is and can be a great force for the good in the world. But because we are such a big  country, we haven't always had to know about other parts of the world. If you are in Laos, you need to know about Thailand, and China and Cambodia, because you are a small country, they are right next door and you need to know who they are. If you are, if you are in the United States sometimes you can feel lazy and think we are so big, we don't have to really know anything about other people. That's part of what I am trying to change because this is actually the region that's going to grow faster than any place else in the world. It has the youngest population and the economy is growing faster than in any place."