“We have met the enemy . . .

. . . in the mirror.”

It’s no secret and should come as no surprise that the majority of current elected leaders from the president and vice president (and their ignorant, unqualified minions) up through the U.S. Congress to many if not most of the state houses and governors are spineless and mindless, having no moral compass and no capacity for shame.

That’s where we are.

That’s who we are.

That these leaders hold the positions they hold and do the damage they do to the ideals of the United States of America is lamentable. It’s infuriating. But it’s not surprising. They’re not the sickness, sick as they are. They are a symptom of what’s wrong with us.

And what’s wrong with us?

Our terminal diagnosis is ignorance.

Over the last century and possibly more, we’ve devalued education to the point where a majority of people can’t think past the prejudices that blind them to what is good. They’re impressed by our fool of a president and our snake of a vice president, and they laugh, drooling, in support of them because these two men hate who they hate. (Truth is, the president and vice president also hate those who fools who voted for them.)

I could provide examples of our terminal ignorance, but I don’t see the point. Those who need to learn either don’t care or won’t get it. But consider one simple example: the pervasive so-called reality shows that gave us our president. They don’t require any thought; they’re nothing but entertainment for those who are entertained by such. And, of course, they’re not even reality. Even if the words are specifically scripted, it’s all scripted. An extreme example is Naked and Afraid. Our lizard brains like it because they’re naked, but that brain can’t or won’t recognize that the rest of it isn’t real. The “contestants” aren’t afraid, aren’t alone. There’s an entire camera crew there, from director down to best boys and grips, whatever those are. And yet we zone out and eat it up.

Many hope we will do better in coming elections. Maybe we will, but I doubt it. Ignorance and lazy minds are not things that can be corrected during an election cycle. And if we don’t take serious steps to try and reverse this condition (and it’s likely we won’t), it’ll be as permanent and destructive as climate change. We are unlikely to vote for better people ever again, unless better people are able to entertain and deceive our uneducated voters as well as the current clowns and third-rate stand-up comics.

To put it simply for all, the simpleminded included: We’re fucked.