Salmo, do you believe that individuals are on average less intelligent than in the past?

There was a mainstream (AP) article a few weeks back that said research shows that well under 50% of the population has enough "analytical ability" to read and understand a newspaper editorial.

Our founding fathers wrote a constitution which they thought would ensure rule, in a representative democracy, by analytical rational men like themselves. The majority that lacked "analytical ability", as the AP article called it, were to be guided politically by neighbors and family who had that ability in selecting rational men who would represent them.

IMO we have become so collectively stupid because the Rovians exploit control of modern media to bypass people with "analytical ability" and directly manipulate the vulnerable majority.

If so,our political system no longer works the way our founding fathers intended.