You raise a reasonable point: we look around, and it doesn't quite look like the world is on fire, people aren't walking around like zombies, so what is the big

You raise a reasonable point: we look around, and it doesn't quite look like the world is on fire, people aren't walking around like zombies, so what is the big deal? The destruction of man's mind will not be witnessed as an explosion. It will be a quiet kind of wasting away. The factory that isn't built. The breakthrough that isn't discovered. The rise of a culture that isn't based on ideas, but on pure emotion. As you say, most Americans spend 10+ years in a classroom, sitting at a desk for 6+ hours per day. This has gone on for decades. And the result? Trump. Post-truth. A culture in which most people can't rationally debate ideas without resorting to emotional attacks. A nation that formerly accepted immigrants by the millions, confident that our greatest days awaited us if we would only reach and work for them... to a nation focused on building walls, terrified of the unknown, and fearful of ideas. Cultural change is slow, until it isn't: 30 years ago, Venezuela was the wealthiest country in South America, now there are no more dogs left to eat. We are more fortunate because past generations created a culture of achievement, science, liberty. But the overall trajectory is unmistakable and we are running on borrowed time. A radical shift in education is the fundamental challenge of our time. Fix education - teach children to think, use reason, and to know that they can shape the world through dedicated focus and effort - and everything else is easy.