I don't dispute your points Houlley. The 'thinkers' of the past do stand out and I guess it may also depend on how big the pond.

There is also the fact that as time marches forward there is very little in the way of new ideas - it has all been done before even if expressed in different ways or from a different perspective.

As I said previously the only thing we can control is our choices (forgetting the psychology behind why we choose for the moment and how it might be influenced).

You cannot become dumb by merely watching but I suggest that as MindlessCruelty states, it is about expectations. Generations that come after us may not have anything with which to compare, hence they are the product of the times as we all were and are.

There is something in that expression that you are the most FREE when you have nothing to lose. In addition it is not just about dumbing down it is about fear.

For example, the public service is a good example of putting up a facade of Codes of Conduct, Governance and APS Values but does very little when called to account. Usually it is because there is a wider motive to protect the reputation of bureacracy - even internal Security Awareness Training puts forward the view that it is 'our' job to protect the reputation of 'the' department, it is not just about confidentiality and security or Cabinet documents etc.

Many people sit there and accept that at face value without question. It is not the job of public servants to protect reputation at the cost of accountability. That is a form of dumbing down and all it does is reduce responsibility at the top.

This is parlty about expectations and dumbing down - some people choose to believe that stuff as if it is 'real' and in fact it is not even legally bound. It is up to senior bureaucrats and politicians to safeguard reputations by acting responsibly and honourably.

Pelican, you make good points and are on the same page.

Political Correctness (PC) is another form of dumbing-down, for it's about the creation of facade...things that look and sound good. It's like being surrounded by "yes-men" and that life is now a personality popularity contest. And it's compounded by being able to be sacked or sued for offending someone.

Now here's the killer...but we all know that the truth often hurts. So whatever you do, don't tell the truth, for that could offend. Tell what wants to be heard.

That's dumbing-down. And it's dumbing-down under the threat of financial violence.

Win government by what wants to be heard, not by what needs to be said and done. That's dumbing-down under the guise of democracy.

Houellebecq,
Come to think of it, yes the right is an advocate for user pays & rightly so. Morally I believe it is more appropriate than the left's others can pay.

User pays, others pay, dumbing down, living well. Really its all BS. We love the stupid life we have, if we didn't there would be a revolution. The communists and right wing fundamentalists have tried oppression as a way to dumb people down and it failed. So the west have used consumerism and media and to this point it's working brilliantly. I think it was John Lennon who said in one of his songs

"Keep you doped with religion, sex and TV and you think your so clever and classless and free but your still F#*kin peasants as far as i can see. A working class hero is something to be.

I get where you are coming from MC.

As for user pays - the Left isn't about 'others pay' it is about we all pay fairly for services.

We are all user pays - we all pay tax - and for that we have a mutual interest in ensuring health care, schools and other public services. I would rather we all pay for healthcare rather than in the US where healthcare is not easily accessible to the poor.

Many things work well with user pays - taxes are not a bottomless pit, but essential services should not be at the whim of a profit incentive.

The communists and right wing fundamentalists.
nairbe,
I think today's people would understand better if you said national socialists !