As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. – H.L. Mencken
The fact about the current collapse of the American Empire which I think many intelligent people are missing is, Americans as a group wanted extremely stupid people in charge because they themselves are extremely stupid, and their idea of “democracy” is rule by people like them, ie extremely stupid. That’s why they’re resistant to recognizing Trump’s being allowed to run around naked, shaking his dick at everyone else in the world, as a debacle; to admit their Dear Leader is a dangerous and demented imbecile is to admit that their entire Weltanschauung is defective. As Asimov expressed it:
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Maggie,
I do not think many people assessed B. Obama, J Carter, Bill Clinton, or almost any recent POTUS to fit Menckens sour prediction. (I would say that J. Biden was smart as well — before he got to the Oval Office.) Were the voting public also that much smarter in those recent eras?
My take on our current mess is a quote from the late Hunter Thompson “When things turn weird, the weird turn pro.” I do not think DJT was the only one that made the culture turn crazy these past few years, but he was of the few around with skills to drive fast in the crazy lane. Where we are being driven to is a harder question, imho.
Well said, compliments.
I often say that I have no emotional response to the political class or issue with them. Rather, I save my hatred for my fellow Citizens as the leaders reflect them.
What gets me most is when people who consider themselves smart, such as in the STEM professions and other technical work, cut others down for taking the time to communicate well and explore subjects in a detailed manner.
The anti-intellectualism made its way into a lot of places over the decades as Americans grew more and more spoilt from the easy success of the immediate Post War Period.
That time is long over, and with it the extended and permanent state of adolescence which makes everything seem like the cliche Junior High, as if that should have ever been that way either, another manifestation of the overall problem.