How did American youth become so dumb and gullible?

Have you paid any attention to the crap the media forces down their throats? In a society where mediocre is good enough it's difficult to rise above the crowd. When people aspire to be on the Jerry Springer show and it's cool to be a pimp, gangster, , bi*** or ni*** what else do you expect. Kids today are drawn into believing that having the most 'bling' is more important than how you got it. They aren't encouraged to earn what they get, they're urged to take it. It must be somewhat difficult for the kids that DO want to achieve something with their lives to find solid motivation. When I was young, we could look up to our sports and entertainment celebs as roll models and hero's. But today's crop of celebrities is either getting arrested for something stupid or in and out of rehab. Take a good look around you and you will see how they became the under-achievers that you see. To all of you kids out there who really do give a f***, I know you're trying and God bless you.