It is a tradition that is old as America: we had an inferiority compley towards Europe, which was more advanced culturally and scientifically.

For that, we saw ourselves as morally superior to those decadent, effete, over-educated Europeans.

I appreciate American’s disinclination towards elitism and our preference for folksy, down-to-earth anti-intellectualism, but lately it has turned into a nearly complete rejection of science and education.