I share your hope. I, too, am aghast at the "dumbing down," and "lowest common denominator" approach of populist politics.

I would like to mention that when I was young, I figured that if young people ruled the world, then things would be much better. I was pretty sour on the bitter, cynical old farts that didn't have a stake in things, and had basically ruined our world.

Sound familiar?

After seeing what's happened in Silicon Valley, which is pretty much my "utopian dream," I have come to realize that young people can be much, much worse than "old farts."

Maximilien Robespierre was an intellectual.