As the leader of the Free World, America can ill afford to allow ignorance to flourish at home and abroad. An enlightened and ethical world, in the long run, is far more conducive to a lasting world peace, prosperity, growth of free enterprise and legitimate wealth than a world that is ill educated, ill fed and ill clothed.
The overhaul of public education system has been overdue for such a long time that it should not be expected to be solved soon enough by the public with a net effect in favor of the system as a whole. I know that most Americans are opposed to governmental intervention in solving any problem and I could not agree with them more. However there are emergency and exceptional situations that government action is justified. Amon those is fighting a war with an enemy and the enemy number one is ignorance that, like termite is destroying the very foundation of this nation. Moreover, if the government has appointed a Drug Czar in the past why cannot we have an Education czar?
I therefore believe that America is badly in need of an Education czar rather than drug czar. When the public ignorance is replaced with public education we will not have major substance abuse or any other abuses for that matter.
Also, this action is so crucial and the action is so late that nothing short of declaring education as national defense will save America. While we spend billions of dollars in defending the country against imaginary foreign enemies, let us not forget that first we have to conquer our number one enemy-public ignorance. Thomas Jefferson said an empire collapses more from within than from without.
Let each of us do our share to unlock the power of the yet sleeping giant-America by enlightening “We the People” before hypocrisy demoralizes the public further with more lethal doses of apathy and cynicism. Let us remind those who have chosen to be indifferent and insensitive to what ails America with the usual alibi that an individual can no longer effect a change the words of Margaret Mead who said:
“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
We can only do this if we have a decisive leader who has a relatively stronger sense of ethics and sense of right and wrong than a politician who, when asked what is the difference between right and wrong, answers”It all depends on what the definition of is, is.”
I close first, with this poem from Langston Hughes:
Let America be America again,
The land that never has been yet and must be,
The land where every man is free.
And one of my own :
Educated, you perceive what you see,
So you never go on a binge or spree.
You are slave if not enlightened,
Even if you were born in the Land of the Free.”
