[mdp2021]

> I've also always felt the same way

You do not "feel".

> Getting Dumber?

Random people are getting dumber relatively to having become more vocal (the idiots have left the bars), properly cultivated people are just struggling to cope with the world of morons, climbed to any position, claiming legitimacy.

> taught ... only get smarter with time as long as we trust the scientific method and other empirical philosophies

I can't believe what I am reading, the paradox in it.

> Distrust in science

Kid, do yourself and the world a favour, spend your spare time studying Philosophy of Science intensively.

Repent immediately: ___of course___ critical thinking is paramount and foundational.