Lol, they were _always_ stupid, It's just that they had other diversions ( like trying to survive) in the past so that they could not practice stupidity.
Check my profile and follow the link, the entire theme of a little that I have written assumes that a large part of the population. Head up: trigger warning for people who think some how the population at large can be 'educated'
Another question - why do you personally need free speech?