Unfortunately, I end up at much the same conclusion: "Ignorance by design." I'm tempted to use the term "stupidity," but I have met plenty of smart people who nonetheless have no idea how to think for themselves. But they can use Google like a whizz, but have no *functional* idea of how to check the veracity of something by thinking it through. 

Yes, we're consumers. Which is a whole different "hobby horse" of mine, because it's yet another manifestation of mindlessness. As (largely) a non-consumer, I am almost regarded as an "enemy of the state." And if I "dare" to question the Holy Grail of Capitalism... WATCH OUT! Things start flying for my head...

I expect you may be right... and I have heard others talk about the "culling of the herd" idea, but I find myself questioning *which* herd we're talking about. A lot of western nations are already "culling themselves" by reaching a negative growth rate. 

Greece, for example... the Greek population has been declining for a while and is evidently forecast to do so for a while. Japan will lose an estimated 40 million off its population in the next 50 years. So what kind of culling will it be, I wonder? Is it already happening? Are the people in the "Tinfoil Hat Brigade" who are hiding from chemtrails actually onto something?

I keep thinking about the movie *"Idiocracy"* and wondering who stand to benefit from all the intelligence being sucked out of the population, and only the mindless sheeple are left behind. It seems like a short-sighted objective because who's going to run the show when the last brain dies?

And now that we have *awareness* of what's happening, it also becomes our task to find a way out of this pattern... by educating ourselves in the ways of the world, and questioning those who would control us by keeping us ignorant.

I believe you are precisely right-- and it's getting worse because parents have to spend more and more time working, *merely to keep afloat* and so they have less time to teach their children *how* to think.

The recent "low point" I experienced was the three young women at our gallery, buying a small $15.00 print, and they *literally* could not figure out how to use some $1's, $5's and $10's to divide the payment equally among the three of them, using (more than enough) the money they had.

It does sadly seem like a "dying art." I wish there were more attention paid to such basic skills as just "problem solving." Here you are, facing some challenging situation... how do you find answers and make an intelligent and informed choice, based on the available information.

Nobody seems to care. And the cynic in me keeps thinking that people are being taught that the answer to everything is "whatever FEELS good." And that usually involves the sale of some product or substance...

I have a small measure of optimism with the idea that make home schooling will make some inroads... on the other hand, the state doesn't like having its control mechanisms fooled with...

In a sense, I think a lot of "non-thinking" happens as a result of the powers that be creating systems that leave us isolated; even if it's just "digital isolation." 

If we are eternally living "inside the game interface" it means we are NOT out there, looking around, and truly noticing (and questioning) why things in the world are so messed up. 

I agree that the best thing we can do is to simply "wake up" on an individual level and make the changes we believe are right. There is no "they" and no "movement" that's magically going to rise up and save up. WE are that movement. And when enough take action... then maybe change will happen. 

HOW do you kick "Big Oil" in the teeth? Walk to work...

In many cases, that would be true, too. Oddly enough, there's a conflict between running schools to "make money" and the fact that well-educated thinking individuals are also *needed* in order for companies to make money. 

It's also true that more and more people end up with skills that are "looking things up" rather than *learning* things.