[sph]

I am not American. I'm just, like many, influenced by your propaganda.

It is very possible that Americans in the 70s where as dumb as they are today, no way for me to confirm it, apart from the fact that a lot of nonsense that's happening today was not happening then, so that has to count for something.

If it helps, the idiocy is not a purely American phenomenon but widespread and now affecting the younger generations. As someone with a Gen-Z sibling, the illiteracy of that generation, grown on Youtube and Tiktok, is utterly mind-boggling. A large contingent of them voted for conservatives and fascists just "for the memes." Back in my day, young people tended to be idealistic and progressive. Fighting for something. Hoping to be better and more open-minded than their parents. I squarely blame this shift on the social like-and-subscribe upvote-driven Internet.