War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges

[Anomalocaris]

What do you think of people who would name as their "Idol" some pop star or dancer such as appears on the show "American Idol"? Are such people also intellectually bankrupt?

I would call them ignorant. But not as repugnant as someone taking a general as their role model. A general is only needed when some society already has declared intellectual bankrupcy.

Well, intellectual bankruptcy is often unavoidable in peace,  and war is often the part of the response to intellectual bankruptcy that is most directly responsible for effective production the surplus of intellectual capital needed to refill the depleted coffers.