Has ignorance taken over the world?

Ignorants have taken over !

I don't know whether dating this from the 80's is correct; I suspect that you should go back to the 60's if you're talking about stuff like family life. The new freedom attitude that was so great then was bound to filter through the generations with the result that parenting is now more difficult; the goalposts have moved regarding respect for the authority of parents and outsiders. Mix this with the rise of the politically correct brigade, whose hearts may be in the right place but they leave themselves wide open to manipulation and abuse of their principles. And the "nanny-state" politicians who seem always to get it wrong. Then chuck into the mix the phenomenal ease with which we can all communicate now and the way the media and said politicians use this to brainwash us with whatever propaganda is this week's fashion. And you end up with a nation of confused people who can't decide whether they should think for themselves or not, respect others or not, try to better themselves or wait for handouts, or as you put it so well, give a monkey's bum or not. There's a lot to be said for a benign dictatorship!

You are right about what we have been doing the last 20 years

or so.

But I think it is more that americans have become very lazy and

only put out enough effort to learn only what they will need to have

a minimum life,We have come to the point that we are trying to

get someone else do all the thinking for us and are happy with

this.

There was a time when we wanted to learn all we can about

everything,that time has come and gone.

The right wing of the Republican party decided that social programs were too expensive. We need to keep sex ed out of the schools and tell all the teens abstinence is the way to go. Special ed needed to be main streamed into regular classes forcing special needs kids to keep up with everyone else. They became frustrated and dropped out of school. George Bush, who butchered the English language, made a mockery of the Office of President by acting like an illiterate chimp. Ronald Reagan started the whole mess by touting deregulation of the banking industry. Lawyers being allowed to advertise that you can sue anyone for anything created a "blame game" that if someone pisses you off, sue them. Parents trying to relive their childhood dreams through their children by having them excell at everything creating a spoiled, angry, and out of control creature for the rest of the world to have to live with. God help us all!

Yes

Ignorance has always been there - it's just now we have the internet which gives stupidity the speed of light.

Sounds about when political correctness took over .

Yep.

Yep taken ova.. sad really but true.

You forgot arrogance.