Storm
This article was originally published as 'Storm' in http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/ on 10th August 2013. Image borrowed from www.couriermail.com.au
The dumbing down of education and the reliance on one's own feelings as a reasonable basis for decision making are topics previously addressed in the column.
It seems to me that we have moved from a situation where few were relatively tertiary educated, but educated to a high standard, to one where a shallower style of tertiary education is available to most everyone. And we have moved from a system of highly organised (definitely flawed and perhaps over-bearing) religion as a source of self-reflection to one where daring to question the crowd is deemed heretical. The popular default now is a reliance on feelings and bureaucracy.