I think it was Jonah Goldberg who observed that people who don’t have the intellectual firepower to defend themselves resort to questioning the motives of their opponents.
Smug pundits squeal the loudest when they finally discover that it is their job in the cross hairs.
A good education and the development of marketable skills is the best defense a person can mount. That said, it is not a guarantee. I know some very bright computer scientists who have been edged out because some very bright Indians and Chinese can do their job at a fraction of what it costs to live in the US.