Reply #106: This is so very true.

[expatriate]

Of late, countries that used to send their citizens to the US for graduate school, have begun to choose other countries and other schools. I've watched the US school system dumbing down for thirty-odd years now, and it's terrifying. Worse is the overwhelming impression I get that intellectual curiosity is sneered at by so many in America. Even when I was in high school in the 1970's, those of us who really wanted to learn something and were curious were ridiculed by the "cool" ignoramuses who made up the football teams and cheerleading squads.

Now it seems as if that high school microcosm has set the standard for American society - and it's presided over by the ultimate Know-Nothing, George Bush.