Improper spelling is not an advancement.
I know what you mean, but I find some British people in the UK that think many Americanised spellings make more sense to them.
Centre or Center? How is one more right than the other, apart from a declaration on which came first? Which is phonetically closer to the actual pronunciation? I'm not exactly sure of the answer myself hehe, but I don't exactly think the interchanging of the position of the two letters in question there (a mutation if you will) makes any difference.
I think many British just feel like we yanks bastardised their language, but if that's the case, so did much of the rest of the world.
I do think you make valid points about a general dumbing down in American society. I'd have to admit that a disproportionately significant portion of my vocabulary has been acquired since migrating to the UK.
I believe British intellectuals on the whole seem to utilise the language to better effect than their American counterparts.
It is a shame that in some circles a high degree of literacy is something to be ashamed of.
Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.