We pretty much got rid of high culture, though. Orchestral music? Opera? Even jazz is something for nerds now. Do people read poetry? Latin? Greek? Once upon a time, anyone aspiring to better themselves or to rise up in society tried to get an education in these areas. It made them think better. It made them speak better. It helped them understand "the long conversation" of culture which takes place over centuries of human striving.
I think the 1960s had a lot to do with this problem. All that fancy stuff -- getting dressed for dinner, nice manners, going to the symphony -- all of that was just bourgeois evidence of the stunted life of Americans living in the suburbs. Away with it! We don't need high culture!
Instead, we'll just, like, get funky wi' de homeboys and totally chill. Dat's what real peoples do. And stuff.
Yo, yous be speakin da troot! lol What’s really scary is that one of the most fun “made up” games we play is “Redneck Scrabble” wherein the only rule is “if you can ‘splain it, you can spell it” is becoming a societal norm!
I, on the other hand, just purchased Latin curricula for my 11-year-old son at the homeschool convention. ;-)