The dumbing down of America was explained in the 2006 movie Idiocracy, where Private Joe Bauers (played by Luke Wilson), is the definition of an “average American,” takes part in a top-secret hibernation program via the Pentagon, wakes up five centuries later to only discovery just how dumb society has become.
Bauers wakes up in the year 2500, and he’s immediately declared the smartest person in the world. Here’s a snippet from the film: