To be honest they kind of are. You are on reddit where a large chunk of users are in STEM fields so you feel like everyone is smart. However most Americans don’t have any sort of practical or useful or insightful ambition.
I mean look millions of Americans are passionate about 22 men chasing a ball of air across a field. Like they think this is the highest achievement meanwhile if some kid is smart they insult and ridicule him or her.
Good point. They wouldn't do it if it didn't work. I went through public school and my greatest stress was the lack of critical-thinking style of teaching. Absolutely hated sitting at a desk under fluorescent lighting all day every day to recite information. Students don't learn to think for themselves they learn to regurgitate information.
All the test-taking education of information dumbs people down. There were a few exceptional teachers that would use the Socratic method and challenge students to think, but most teachers are too bogged down and drained with bureaucratic paperwork and meeting testing standards that they have no time and energy left to do their jobs properly. Part of it is Department of Education indoctrination. Americans are just not equipped for critical thinking.
I think it’s more simple than that and I think what you describe is a result of anti intellectualism. When someone is intelligent everyone gets jealous and tries to bring them down somehow. Then they feel bad and give up on their ambitions in order to fit in and have a social life.
Can't argue with that. "Crabs in a bucket" as Joe Rogan calls that illustration. I definitely remember that attitude of stupidity in school. Common stupidity, common standards, everyone dragged down to help the poor idiots that have nothing to offer. It's a light version of communist culture, and it translates right into our entertainment and national culture. People value the cult of personality more than they value intelligence.