Americans had an anti-intellectual mindset well before both COVID and the rise of social media. One of the most common "putdowns" of better-educated people was, "If they're so smart, then why aren't they rich?" We do not see the value of knowledge for its own sake, but believe it is only useful if it can be monetized. That is why the Liberal Arts major is now in danger of disappearing.

Our anti-intellectual strain also causes us to believe that people who are famous must be "smarter" than the rest of us, which is the only reason Trump won the presidency (well, that and a field of 17 primary candidates.) We think that "Freedom of Speech" is the same thing as knowledge, and feel picked on when someone who actually knows something corrects our assertions. While we may all be presumed equal, our levels of knowledge and expertise are not.