I was thinking of those who maintain that "common men" and workers are smart, only elites are evil and out of touch.
ECOLOGICAL FALLACY - what is true of the population may is not necessarily true of the individuals. The fact that US has a higher per capita GDP than most other countries doe not mean that every US-er is better off than non-Users but that the US has a larger share of extremely wealthy people - and a larger share of very poor ones. If I posted that statement to this list everybody would just nod and yawn. Yet, when the argument is that the US population has a larger than many other countries share of "knuckle dragging dolts" - even smart and reasonable people like Doug feel an urge to react.
To reiterate - the argument is not that all Americans are dolts, but that the US society has a larger share of dolts than comparable countries. That, however, does not mean that there are no smart people here.
Point of clarification - I should not perhaps be saying that dolts are a "larger share of the US population" but rather that they are more salient in the US than in most other comparable countries which may or may not involve greater numerical shares. There are good reasons of that already identified by Alexis deTocqueville and boiling down to one word - populism - but that is another discussion.
YOUR COMMENTS ON EDUCATION - there is something fruity going on here, namely cherry picking and comparing apples to oranges. As everything else in this country, the US educational institutions vary considerably - perhaps to a greater degree than those in comparable countries. Therefore you can find some truly outstanding institutions next to some really bad ones.
What is more, a higher proportion of US population attends high school and colleges than that of most other comparable countries, which is a result of homogenization of the US educational system. Thus, most European countries have some variant of what is known as "early tracking." After finishing 7- or 8-grade elementary school some kids go to high schools, which is the college track, other to technical schools which is either college or technical track, while still other - to vocational schools (vocational track). That sorting or "cherry picking" make European high school look "smarter" than the US counterparts - but this is really comparing apples to oranges.
The US system trying to push as many kids through college as possible is another half-baked idea of progressive populism, deep down implying the ridiculous notion that everyone should be the same. Instead of trying to raise the economic and social standing of the working class through unionization, high wages, good working conditions, social safety net, access to "high culture" etc. the emphasis was put on "equal opportunity" to earn one's status and human treatment through education.
This was one of the biggest betrayal of the working class - basically conceding that workers are "chattel" and can only be "uplifted" by enriching their minds and spirits by educational establishments. But another negative effect of these misguided efforts was that it pushed into the college track a lot of people who otherwise would not be there i.e. if college was not the only way of escaping the shitty treatment that the working class folks get in this country.
So the end result is that high schools and colleges train people who would much better utilize their talents if they trained as welders or mechanics - not to mention "scholarships" given to athletes who have little interest in academic pursuits. Those misplaced people, forced to engage in academic pursuits that ill suited to their skills and interests create an impression of "dumbing down" of the US educational institutions vis a vis their European or Japanese counterparts. In reality, we are comparing apples and oranges here, because most of those considered "dumb" in the US ( a more appropriate word would be misplaced) would not even be in a college -track institution elsewhere.
To be sure, the openness of the US educational system is highly commendable - and it gives a chance to many people who otherwise would not have it. That includes myself - I came to this country when I was 27. At that age, I would have no chance of enrolling in college in Europe. I can also attest that US educational institutions are much less feudal than their European counterparts. All I am arguing here is that if the US educational system was more diversified to better suit talents and interests of different segments of the population - it would not only provided a better service to that population, but also avoid the appearance of "dumbing down."
Wojtek