[explorigin]

> But in the everyday world (away from NYC, SV and HN) the mediocrity and low level thinking of everyday people is stunning.

Please don't think that 3 communities contain the monopoly on critical thinking. From my observation (living in the "Bible belt"), it comes from a person's news media sources. Television and newspapers (traditional news media) parrot party lines and support the two-party duopoly. People that have always gotten their news this way understandably are easily controlled.

There is a newer generation (not just young people) that use the internet as an augment or even primary source of news[1]. This gives a completely different perspective on world events. These sorts of people are all over the world.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOeAa6Ye4dc