Honestly, I think you are falling for a lot fo the same thoings you are decrying. You use the term "We" a lot, when you seem to be saying "the things i see in media" instead of evaluating any sort of biases you may have regarding the differences between individuals (we there are tons of individuals who are absolutely brilliant, and can be found in every aspect of society), small groups of people, and then the giant "We" who I for one rarely find myself a part of.

agreggating metrics across huge swaths of people rarely brings you to a cogent conclusion about the people in that group.

Of course there are dummies now, but there are WAY MORE dummies than ever just because there are WAY MORE people than ever... and now the dummies have a tool.

Don't despair. Nothing new here. Em,pires will rise and fall, and hopefully, we can stop looking at progress in terms of "We".