“We must win the common people in every corner. This will be obtained chiefly by means of the schools; and by open, hearty behavior, show condescension, popularity, and toleration of their prejudices, which we shall at leisure root out and dispel.”

Ray Charles can still see what this has wrought.

Does this remind anyone of our public schools ?

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all... The dumbing of America is not just in our schools but in our culture - religion (the far-right wrack jobs), television, greed, and the media being the primary culprits.

When we change the way we look at things,the things we look at change. :-)

A concerted effort has been made to dumb us down as a way to subjugate us.

Look up the pruposes of the Jesuits to get into higher education. Not much different that this me thinks.

This is a long time project to control the dumb masses, from the evangelistic propaganda projects of anthropogenic global warming in the schools (who says we don't have "religion" in school?) to "reality" TV, to the popular, amoral sluts of Hollywood. Even if it is not actually an organized conspiracy, the lazy "common people" will complete the project on their own.

yes it does jim

The occupying statist theocracy infesting this land, has with its theocratic seminaries (government schools) and media of open and hearty immoral behavior shown the condescension from a land of liberty to a population of intolerance, prejudice, helots, serfs and slaves. The designed plan of enslaved masses is more than simple conspiracy, it is the demonic destruction of natural law administration, justice, liberty, freedom, prosperity and peace.

It is amazing that this idea is expressed out loud, for it has been official U.S. policy since the late nineteenth century. It's been on steroids since the Wilson administration.