in a way that allows them to self-correct, by recognizing nonsense for what it is. What the last few years have shown is that many in our society lack some basic reasoning skills and/or the strength of character to know right from wrong. They aren't able to spot a con. We shouldn't rely on others in the community to keep these people on the rails.

One of the better classes I took at UVa was Glenn Kessler's Forms of Reasoning in the philosophy dept. It taught students to recognize various argument structures -- including fallacious reasoning (straw man, ad hominem, etc.). I wish something like this could be made available to more high schoolers. More debate-oriented and Socratic approaches to teaching would probably be a plus too. I suspect there are many students who don't get much of an opportunity to have in-depth discussions at home or who have very close-minded parents.