David McElroy

The concept of the movie, “Idiocracy,” is simple: We’re dumbing down our society so badly — intellectually, culturally and every other way — that people who are stupid today will be considered average (or better) in 500 years. Since everyone is dumb as a post, the entire society is falling apart. It’s a satirical extension of where we are today.

If you want some evidence that we really are moving down the road in that direction, consider that Donald Trump is being taken seriously on the national political stage. This lousy businessman — whose companies have filed for bankruptcy four times so far — believes he matters. Unfortunately, his narcissistic bluster has been enough to make him popular with a certain element of the population for whom the world of “Idiocracy” has already arrived.

Earlier this year, Trump teased us with whether he was going to run for president as a Republican or not. He says he’s still contemplating running next year as an independent. Most recently, though, Trump has been in the news because of his plans to moderate a Republican presidential debate in Iowa on Dec. 27. Doesn’t this make just as much sense as making Lindsey Lohan or Kim Kardashian a moderator?

To their credit, most of the GOP presidential candidates have bailed out of Trump’s show, but Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have accepted. In an interview with the UK’s Sunday Telegraph this week, Trump was characteristically immodest in claiming to be salvation for millions:

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Many of us have watched warily as Vladimir Putin has edged closer to turning Russia into an authoritarian state again. I’m supportive of the current protests against him, but I’m concerned about the strength communists are gaining in the country.

Everywhere you look in the pictures and video from the Russian protests lately, you see the red flag of the communist Soviet Union. It’s a reminder that things could easily get worse there.

I’ve been told by friends in Russia that many Russians are supporting the communists simply because they see them as a realistic alternative to Putin’s United Russia party. There are western-style liberal political groups, but they’re apparently not the rising political bloc as was once hoped. (Remember that “liberal” here means “pro-liberty.” It has nothing to do with what the word means in U.S. politics.)

I only have one point here. If you put your faith into a majoritarian political system, you’re playing Russian roulette, which seems like an appropriate metaphor in this context. You can only be free if other people agree you should be free. If most of them want a strongman such as Putin — or a return of the communists — you’re stuck with that, too.

The real issue isn’t changing politicians or parties. The real issue is changing an immoral system that claims the right to make your decisions. That’s just as true in America as it is in Russia.

With long faces and grim predictions, U.S. politicians from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on down are starting to implement budget cuts to the U.S. military. Am I the only one who’s ecstatic about the first cuts and eager for more to come quickly?

Panetta warned last month that cuts would be “devastating” to the Pentagon. Republicans have solemnly warned against cuts that go beyond the relatively minor cuts that Congress agreed to in August. Officials of both parties warn that the defense needs of the country might suffer with the automatic cuts that are going into effect after the congressional “super committee” gave up on its effort to find other budget solutions.

The military is supposed to find $450 billion in additional cuts over a 10-year period. Does this mean we can’t invade countries such as Iraq anymore? Does it mean that if some military action is required — such as attacking terrorist training facilities in Afghanistan — that we can strike somewhere and then leave the country alone afterwards? Does it mean that we won’t be spending money to help overthrow various governments — such as Libya’s — so that one dictator can be replaced by another bad regime?

Does it mean we can shut down U.S. military bases in Europe — and let the Europeans defend themselves? Does it mean that we can bring the troops home and send many of them to productive jobs in the civilian world?

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