Bread and Circuses

We live in an era where stupidity isn't a bug but a celebrated feature but how did we get here? 

People aren't any smarter or dumber than they were decades ago but the focus and priorities of societies shift such that certain traits are either celebrated or discouraged. 

Social media had a hand in destroying confidence in subject matter expertise and acted as unification vehicle for the simple minded who could now find each other more readily and build echo chambers. 

If the Renaissance preached virtue, intellectual pursuit and beauty our era is the bread and circuses phase of the Roman empire implosion where distraction from truth and intelligence  became the norm to soothe the masses and prevent them from paying attention. 

This phase too will pass only it will get considerably worse before things get better.