I would posit to you that the reason for the decline of American culture is not technicians and engineers lacking a background in things of permanent importance.
It is more the fault of liberal arts majors and their ideals that there is no absolute truth, that post-modernism is a valid substitute for critical thinking, that morality is an outmoded concept, etc.
They don’t teach that stuff in engineering schools.
They do teach it in liberal arts colleges.
Want an example? OK, here’s a nice, clear example. I see no shortage of pundits, liberal arts majors all, who are arguing that Spitzer’s behavior is not the concern of the taxpayers.
My engineering background informs me that if I’m paying a man to do job “X” and he is screwing around on the job (literally), I can fire his butt out the door, post haste, and I don’t have to listen to any excuses for the behavior.
All the more reason we need liberal arts education starting in grade school as it used to. We just need to can most of the current crop of teachers and start over. We need leaders who realize that knuckling under to PC garbage is going to destroy this country. If such leaders can be found in the engineering profession I am all for it.
I don’t believe the foul teachings you mention came from an understanding of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, The Holy Bible and truthful versions of History, I believe they come from other sources. Somewhere along the way it became “cool” to swallow all this garbage and call anyone who is in touch with reality a “right wing extremist”. I am with Huey Lewis, “Its Hip To Be Square”.