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Gedolim and Ketanim

A few years ago I was sitting next to a father and son learning Bava Metziah. The discussion was about a fight over a bathhouse. The son asked the father, "I thought that way back then everyone was at a much higher level. Why were they fighting over a bathhouse?"
The father answered, "Zeh l'umas zeh asah Elokim. The Gedolim of those days were greater, but the hamon am was worse."
I think that a perusal of Shas and Teshuvos would seem to validate the father's point. There has never been such an era of universal Jewish education for religious Orthodox Jews since the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. On the other hand, it seems accepted that the Gedolim of our day are not nearly at the level of the Gedolim of yesteryear. (Not, of course, that I am able to evaluate or rank the Gedolim!)
This reminds me of the pasuk at the beginning of Rus: "It happened in the days that the Judges judged..." Chazal understood the pasuk as saying that it was in the days that the Judges were judged by the general population.
This kind of behavior is a natural outcome of a nation that doesn't respect its leaders. In our day, too, as the level of Gadlus declines and the level of the Hamon Am rises, we should understand that we are in danger of imitating this behavior. Some would point to the proliferation of Gadol-bashing blogs as an indication that we are there already.
The good news is that Chazal said that in the days before Moshiach there will be a surge in Chutzpa. This is very understandable, considering that Gadlus is on a downward trajectory, and that the standard religious Jew has more education than ever before, leading to situations where the "Judges are judged". It certainly looks like we are closer than ever to the Ge'ula She'leima, Amen.

P.S. Let's not forget, that notwithstading today's Gedolim's status compared to, say, Moshe Rabbeinu, we still should relate to them with the greatest respect and humility. Yiftoch b'doro k'Shmuel b'doro.