America was made by and for big ideas. Insofar as big ideas have shaped it, it is ever on the verge of hyperbole and dream. Today's big ideas come with an air of celebrity and accessibility; they glitter with glamour but demand little of the Americans. While they have many manifestations, people see them epitomized in TEDTalks. TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design), a nonprofit that offers two annual conferences of short lectures on innovative ideas, mixes extreme elitism with extreme accessibility. Honoring the liberal arts may sound like a big idea in itself, but it requires modesty, as its meaning comes clear only in the details. Today's worship of sweeping innovations is preventing more modest, thoughtful ideas from being heard. As those who wish to build on the past are assumed to be protecting the status quo, people risk forsaking the works of lasting beauty and practical significance that are part of the liberal arts tradition. (Contains 18 endnotes.)