The first time I actually heard this terminology applied to society as a whole was back during 2011 when Katie Couric was signed to replace longtime CBS news anchor, Dan Rather. While I had always very much liked and respected Rather as a seasoned news veteran, his suggestion that the general public was somehow ‘dumbing down’ in their efforts to accept Couric in his former role seemed rather harsh and misdirected. After all, it was CBS who had opted to introduce an element of celebrity into what had always been an otherwise serious portrayal of the day’s events that served to shape our world. Although the general public had been unprepared at the time to embrace the same kind of warmth and sense-of-humor coupled with an air of professionalism that had made her a star on the Today Show, she could hardly be held accountable for the miscalculations of a major network when they tried to reinvent the wheel.

It wasn't until later that I came to realize it had been Carl Sagan who had originally coined the phrase ....

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...

The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”  

Fast forward to today when in all honesty, I can’t help but believe we are all being asked to ‘dumb it down’ for real this time in order to accept a self-proclaimed business mogul with a thirst for celebrity as a serious presidential candidate. How else can this phenomenon that has led to the nomination of Mr. Trump by the GOP be explained when in the recent past a few misplaced words, such as Mitt Romney’s 47% was enough to derail a bid for the highest office in the land? Mr. Trump has continually made a mockery of the political process while simultaneously picking off his opponents one-by-one same as any playground bully mercilessly issues one vengeful threat after another designed to instill dread and fear in those who might otherwise seek to challenge his authority, all while throngs of supporters flock to his rallies echoing his hate speech while bolstering his already distorted ego.

While I have always spoken in favor of the two-party system and look forward to a time when a 3rd or even 4th party might rise to prominence as a means to offer an expanded list of candidates from which the voting public might choose, I cannot abide by this choice at all, and I honestly fear the pandemic he’s unleashed in the hearts and minds of those who proudly call themselves his supporters. I grew up in the South out in the country where people lived on acreage and their dogs ran free. I remember a neighbor of ours who had chickens and the time one of our beloved dogs unexpectedly developed a taste for them.

Something drastic had to be done, because everyone knew back then once a dog developed a taste for blood, it was all but impossible to be undone. Possible solutions were rather simple - however crude - coming down to one of a couple of things … the dog would have to be permanently relocated, put down or her spirit would have to be broken. Gretel was a much beloved pet of my brother’s, and he wasn’t about to give her up without a fight, so through the use of aversion therapy, he was the one who had to discipline her to the point of what might have appeared cruel to others in order to keep her, but in the end he was successful, and we had the dog for many years afterward.

But the public is an entirely different story. What does one do to turn around an entire segment of the population who’s suddenly made it ‘okay’ to publicly ridicule the disabled, or to attack an opponent by assigning vicious monikers he repeats at every conceivable turn, or one who would effectively rewrite our constitution by denying the very freedom our forefathers fought so hard to achieve by closing our borders to those who might seek a better life? Or one who promotes racial divisiveness and treats women if they were hardly more than a cup size? On a daily basis Mr. Trump says and does the very things we as parents begin teaching our children ‘not’ to do the moment they develop language skills. Therefore, I must pose the question … “If we do not accept such behavior in our offspring, then why would we promote its proliferation in a political candidate?”

Is it because we’ve come to place the bar so low for those we place in charge to serve, that it somehow becomes acceptable? Excuse my language, but I’m calling “bullshit” on that one. We need to better adapt ourselves to a culture of accountability – especially when it comes to our elected officials – whereupon if someone is fundamentally unfit to serve in the capacity for which they apply, then their resume’ is systematically placed on the stack of candidates who are no longer under consideration. If we truly want to make America ‘great again,’ or rather to improve upon the status quo, then it begins with each of us by opting to make informed decisions based upon the perceived good of the collective whole of society and not just a select few, and it starts with first holding ourselves accountable for the choices we as individuals make on a daily basis. If you are not comfortable in your own skin, then perhaps it’s up to you to take a long, hard look at your own reflection in the mirror and stop looking for the government to cure all that ails you.

Government is in place to create an infrastructure in which you at least have the potential to thrive, but only you can actually make that happen. So I challenge you to stop looking for answers in false prophets whose only intent is to serve themselves at your expense. You are better than this, and America is already great.