Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Condemns ‘Nation of Nincompoops’

As Michael Moore's new movie 'Capitalism: A Love Story,' so pointedly reveals, the American dream just ain't what it used to be. Not only is there more of a division in this country than ever between the 'haves' and 'have-nots,' the fallout from unchecked capitalism gone haywire has devastated all sectors of the population. Social security is crumbling, healthcare is pricier than ever, and the education system is on the verge of collapse.

"Our children aren't even in the top 20 anymore," Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine tells Noisecreep. "You look at that and you think, 'How are we going to be able to compete with other countries when we have the education of a third world country and worse?' There was a study of how many high school students could identify George Washington. One in four knew who he was. And I'm thinking, 'God, we are just bringing up a generation of nincompoops.' Teachers are overworked, schools are babysitting facilities now, and teachers are scared to death of disciplining kids because the kids will come back and shoot 'em."

On the new Megadeth album, 'Endgame,' Mustaine's ire was fueled at least in part by the dumbing down of America, but also by the acts of those who have abused their considerable power in the faces of a public too distracted or oblivious to notice. In fact, the album title comes from a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement document that endorses "the removal of all removable aliens" by 2012.

"I was watching an inspirational DVD, and this guy was talking about the 'Endgame Document,'" begins Mustaine. "I was mortified to find out that we had a president who signed a document into law that was going to forever change the face of American history and American politics and American liberties, and that he would do it without anybody knowing. The Senate didn't know about it and didn't get a chance to vote on it and neither did the House of Representatives. He just did it."

The president in power when the 'Endgame Document' was signed was George Bush. Obviously, there have been some changes since then, but Mustaine's not convinced that having a Democrat in the White House is going to cause the kinds of seismic shifts needed to truly democratize America.

"The real good guys that would be great leaders for our country, they don't want to do it because it's a thankless job and before you can even get to the White House they have done so much digging in your past that if it's not you or your immediate family, they'll find somebody in your family to discredit you so that you don't have to be in politics," Mustaine says. "It's like Alex Jones said with 'The Endgame' movie, there's a phantom government in America and it pretty much does the bidding of all the wealthy people of the world. Whoever they want to be in politics is who they want in politics and that's that. I'm not a conspiracist or anything, but it would take an absolute buffoon to not know what's going on."