Anti intellectualism is rampant everywhere. It's dangerous to act like far right anti intellectual populism isn't a rampant global phenomenon right now. Sure its easier to see it in the declining USA empire as it collapses in part due to its like far right anti intellectual populism, but its everywhere.

The whole notion of 'Murica borders on being a religion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion

Boy howdy when I found this the first time I was in high school. What an eye opener! It explained so much of what I experienced in school and the beliefs my peers carried.

It looks like this article first popped up in 2006, that tracks, I first read it before 2011 and after 2007.

It’s easy to punch up

Come on, that is a pretty warped way of looking at things. How many Americans do you actually know in real life, not just people you have bumped into online? Yes, there are definitely groups in the U.S. that fit the stereotype you are talking about, but it is a huge leap to act like that applies to the entire country. It is a bit like saying all Russians hate democracy and want the world to fall apart. We both know that is not how things really work.

Think about it like this. If we went to the World Cheese Awards in Switzerland, you might assume every single person there is a cheese fanatic. I can promise you we would still find at least one person who does not care about cheese at all or barely knows anything about it. People are unpredictable like that.

Just because a large part of a group behaves badly does not mean everyone in that group is the same. It is worth slowing down and remembering that individuals are far more varied than the loudest or worst examples of the group they happen to be in.

Tldr: we ain't all the same bruv