Today's 20-somethings can be brilliant, quick and of value to society. Yet, ignorance abounds among the most educated generation in history. Examples include:

Fake meat is health food; "their" is singular; Cinco de Mayo = Mexico's Independence Day; The First Amendment forbids prayer in public schools; legal pot negates the black market; new housing developments inflate the housing costs; electric cars = low emissions; men get pregnant; women have an extra rib ... that type of nonsense.

Former NFL journeyman Colin Kaepernick and Nike think the Betsy Ross flag is racist — and people believe them. The principal of a prestigious Colorado school confused the Gadsden flag with slavery.

As a civilized society, we must constantly guard against hatred, racism and irrational discrimination. Yet, this diligence cannot form the overarching mission of our education system at the expense of traditional academic disciplines.

Director Mike Judge incidentally portrayed today's low intellectual climate in his 2005 film "Idiocracy," a cult classic portraying a culture of stupidity 500 years in the future. Though amusingly prophetic, Judge was off by most of five centuries.

"I feel like the curse of the movie just spread out into the world," Judge said after rewatching his flick in 2022.

The director's ostensibly fictional dystopia happened in a minute. Since the movie's release — and as portrayed in the film — we've elected a self-aggrandizing entertainer as president. We followed up with a man who gets lost on podiums. We pay debts with debts owed to countries that hate us. We give money to enemies.

Instead of teaching scholars to move forward with constructive cooperation, basic knowledge of and love for their country, most of our colleges and universities weirdly emphasize tribalism and personal genetic identity as the primary focus of a formal education. They foment grievance and division — conceptual enemies of prosperity and peace.

Despite the devolution of higher education, groupthink continues conflating success with a four-year degree. Colleges provide an essential and effective route for some prospective professionals, and some institutions take this seriously. Yet, a surplus of educated professionals sadly toils at drive-thrus with degrees in sociology, ethnic studies — even the MFA in puppetry from the University of Connecticut.

Consider the difference between today's typical college graduates and skilled workers. The average graduate, based on data from Indeed, earns $61,000 — a number skewed artificially high by doctors, lawyers, and executives who earn six- and seven-figure wages. Compare the average graduate's $61,000 to average trade earnings:

— Real estate agent: $95,000 ($34,000 more)

— Paramedic: $123,000 ($62,000 more)

— MRI technologist: $103,000 ($42,000 more)

— Radiation therapist: $127,000 ($66,000 more)

— Aircraft mechanic: $76,000 ($15,000 more)

— Assistant physical therapist: $75,000 ($14,000 more)

Compare those numbers to the earnings of ordinary professionals with undergraduate degrees:

— Graphic designers, photographers, and other arts graduates: $42,000

— Theology graduates (clergy): $40,000

— Social services graduates: $47,000

— Education graduates (mostly teachers): $48,000

— Psychology graduates: $50,000

— English (various writers & editors): $51,000

Nearly all the above pay college debt, while tradespersons earning more pay little or no academic debt.

Knowing this, the community should applaud and support a new vocations scholarship program at Pikes Peak State College, endowed with an anonymous gift of $844,000. We're seeing high schools and community colleges all over Colorado place greater emphasis on vocational trades.

Education is not only about money and careers, of course. It should provide the personal fulfillment of knowledge, if only for self-satisfaction. Plumbers, welders, ranchers and other trade professionals live in a world of books, streaming sound and digital everything. They are self-taught, well read, in demand, highly paid and gaining in stature.

The Gazette Editorial Board

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

Photo credit: Sten Rademaker at Unsplash