The past 20 years have hardly been a Renaissance of creativity in the arts or rationality in politics. For all the emphasis on education and the climb of supposedly educated college graduates, I'm amazed at the increasing number of people, for instance, who believe in far-fetched conspiracies or view the lowest common denominator when it comes to television or other performance arts.
Let's just take a few of the negative trends/fads/inventions;
Our society has gone from the literate lyrics of the Beatles and Bob Dylan to the screeching, hate-filled "word vomit" of hip-hop artists, offering impassioned pleas for cop-killing and knocking around their women. Occasionally a hip-hop performer like Eminem can pinch a bit of poetry out of the genre, but even his music is fueled by a backbeat of testosterone.
Talk radio has become a forum for bashing, not explanation. Even though I enjoy hearing Democrats sizzled on the broadcast grill, I admit that Republican-oriented talk radio is bombast and posturing. No wonder the Democrat lefties are chomping at the bit to start their own liberal talk radio network. They understand, as Republicans have, that there is a huge number of people out there who would rather be told what to think instead of heading off to the library and doing a little self-study. Talk radio is not a forum for those listeners wishing to understand issues; rather, it's a big comfy cushion for those too lazy to read newspapers, news magazines and books.
The National Basketball Association has gone from a league defined by skill to an assemblage of pampered, egocentric punks in gym shorts. The NBA is no longer seen as a stage for Bob Cousy or Oscar Robertson or Julius Erving or even John Stockton. Today's NBA, as engineered by David Stern, is a carnival starring tattooed bad boys who scowl and act insulted by a referee's whistle.
Politically, there is a distinct trend toward polarization, with decrease cooperation between the parties. In the "good old days", one could find Everett Dirkson, a solid Republican, and Mike Mansfield, a veteran Democrat, shaking hands and working behind the scenes to fashion legislation for the good of the country. Today, when Sen. Orrin Hatch teams with Sen. Ted Kennedy on a bill, both political parties howl that their boy has "crossed the line and is comforting the enemy."
All are examples of an encroaching malaise which we gladly accept and, in turn, offer to future generations.

Arriving in Davis County from the Midwest, Mr. Ernst is employed in the technology sector--and prefers to be surrounded by Republicans.