Yes, news programming sells itself with hysteria. But some things have unquestionably regressed, notably U.S. politics and the dignity and respectability of those who hold office in the USA. And, for that matter, the Supreme Court.

But all of that goes back to the deliberate, belligerent ignorance championed by millions of people in this country. The tragedy is that the Internet, once a conduit for scientific knowledge and research, has been turned into a clearinghouse for retrograde "thought," allowing stupidity to reach the critical mass required to bring down entire societies.