DUMB FROM LOW TO HIGH

Pundits of all stripes continue to blame the Teletubbies for dumbing down kids' TV. Other than giving kids something they might actually want to watch, it's hard to imagine the Tubbies crowding out our highest quality programming:

For adults, the road to stupidity is even broader and shorter. Poor George W.S. Trow complains that he can't wear a fedora hat unless he wears it ironically. David Denby looks upon a "deadening of vital impulses that make good movies possible and criticism valuable," and fears for his job.

Even escaping into monuments of unaging intellect won't do the trick anymore. John Heath, author of Who Killed Homer: The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom, claims that even the classics are being dumbed down. Which pretty much shoots the hell out of Paul Fussell's belief that reintroducing grammar-school Latin courses will solve the crisis of our schools.