The biggest problem in the world, and especially inside the USA, is probably ignorance. The average person is a dumbass with little to no critical thinking skills (and with little to no interest in developing them). That is why so many people can be deceived, and it's why, when you turn more than 50% of voters into morons, democracy fails. But this is a manufactured situation.
At this point, high school graduation tests in the United States are equivalent to the grade eight tests in most other countries (more, more). However, since many American students are still not smart enough at age 18 to pass what people in other countries pass at age 13, the passing grade numbers are being lowered. A few days ago Ohio just approved (by a 14-2 margin!) to a massive required skills reduction (more)… Now to graduate in Ohio, you have to score 40% on an already level-lowered test.
I fail to see how this is good for America.
Of course, rich kids go to private schools, and America is owned by the rich. I suppose if your goal is to create an ocean of consumers that you can trick into buying anything, even if it ultimately kills them, then this is a great idea. But it's not good for America.
The average young person spends about four hours a day watching TV (more), and many watch far more. To put that into context, I think it's safe to say that the average reader can easily read about 50 pages an hour (and that's really a low-ball guess) — meaning that if they gave up just half their television watching time they could read three or four books a week. Even for free. I pose a simple question for you:
How different a place would America be if everyone in America read three or four books a week?
PS. And don't think this is isolated in America. While America is a “leader”, it is also an indicator. This will happen everywhere that rich people exist. Oh, and feel free to substitute “television” with “aimless web browsing”. New instrument, same fucking song.
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