Trump is what you get when low-info voters rally around "one of us"

Trump is emblematic of our dumbed-down culture. Before the age of 'smart' connectivity, those who were politically engaged had ordinary common sense, street smarts and a rudimentary education ... AND ... we wanted leaders who towered above us, who were the crème de la crème. Today, those ordinary would-be voters are intellectually lazy, out on cloud nine, and ridiculously narcissistic ... AND ... we want a President who is "one of us". Guess where that takes us?

Someone once said wisely that "The most essential requirement for democracy to work is an informed public". That's why it is dreaming to think we can go stormtrooping into places like Iraq and Afghanistan, set up some voting booths, and expect democracy to work.

But rather than worry about the third-world, we'd better look at what's happening to our government here at home. Ignorance embraces ignorance. By dumbing ourselves down as a culture, and picking leaders "like us" who "tell it like it is" and whom our lesser angels find entertaining, we may be destroying any chance of democracy continuing to work here.