The humanities vs stem debate and why the US will never beat China

USA's obsession with trying to beat China in a competition war they've already lost is crazy. You can't beat China if your society doesn't value progressing education and science as a means of nationalism. We have people in charge actively convincing Americans that education and science is indoctrination, while their kids go to the most expensive top-tier schools in the country.

China understands that there is strength in education, like many Asian countries. The smarter and more skilled your population is, the more advancements you make. The USA continues to make a disturbing case against strong education, while not even putting support in practical training. They are gearing up the population to be filled with misinformed and uneducated people.

Anti-intellectualism isn't really on the rise, but at the glass ceiling and ready to burst. It's been on the rise for a long time and unfortunately, it comes in waves over the decades in particular societies (like the USA). I encourage people to read about the history of it. I think the last thing to push it through has been short-form content and sound bites. People are not encouraged to read, learn, listen, etc. Not encouraged to do anything that doesn't present immediate gratification. We see this with learned helplessness and whataboutism permeating the same groups that anti-intellectualism does.

The way to fight against this is to actively engage in learning from everyone and everything. You don't have to go to college or have money to learn, you just need interest and an open mind. If you don't already, pick up lots of different books and build a home library or rent them out at your local library for free. Take some free classes, listen to educational content that covers different perspectives. Gain an expanded worldview and learn how to identify nonsense. People are seriously lacking in critical thinking, logical reasoning, and media literacy.

A well-rounded individual knows a lot of things. You should know some science, math, humanities, hands-on practical skills, etc. You don't have to pick and choose. You should know how to fix your own things, grow your own food, and build your own stuff.

I also encourage people to not believe in an all or nothing, black-and-white mindset. Just because a few pricks exude irritating behavior, doesn't mean everyone else agrees. I'm a software engineer and went to school for CS, that doesn't mean I don't value other fields. Don't let loudmouths convince you that STEM people are here to run over humanities or that practical hands-on skills aren't important, it's just not true. Everyone can benefit from learning a lot of stuff. That includes humanities learning about engineering and math. Learning about everything as much as you can, should be a lifelong goal. What you do for a career doesn't stop you from picking up a book in your free time.