I concur wholeheartedly with both your analysis and your recommendations. We need to be aware, however, of the fact that our system of government is also greatly to blame for our present predicament. We require no qualifications from either candidates or voters; all that's necessary is to manage to live to the age of majority. After that, no matter how ignorant, stupid, infantile, and incompetent one may be, one can both stand for office and vote for candidates. This sends a simple message: you can be irredeemably stupid yet your "opinion" counts for just as much as that of a well-informed thoughtful intelligent person.

With that message, one can hardly expect any outcome better than that we presently have, and which will ultimately (pace Plato) end in tyranny because so many ignorant foolish people will vote for the tyrant-to-be under the belief that they are being "patriotic." We've seen this before and we're going to see it again very soon.