From what I've seen, there's been a shift in our national opinion about education. It used to be that some kids didn't graduate High School, some did, some got Associates Degrees, others went to trade school or technical school, some graduated college, some got a Master's Degree and a few got Doctorates. All of them had a place in the workforce. Now, it seems that graduating college (that is, earning a four-year degree) holds the same merit as graduating High School did one or two generations ago. No college means no job security (not in all cases, but more than before to be sure).
Why the shift? Education has been subsidized more by government to raise our national level of education that we might compete more on an international scale. In order to stay on top, we need to be smarter. One problem is that as education becomes more available, its value diminishes (as stated earlier). Another problem that we assume education will make us smarter.
My dad is from the "old school." One of the terms he uses with increasing frequency is "educated idiot." What he means is that even though college students are becoming more cosmopolitan reading Wollstonecraft and Marx, they have no idea of the practical implications of such work. They can ace a test, but they're not smart enough to keep a budget and live within (or God forbid, under) their means. In short, college students don't learn common sense.
As our education level rises, the number of manual labor jobs done by Americans decreases (hence the argument about "jobs Americans just won't do"). As education becomes more available, it comes closer to becoming a "right" and is viewed less and less as the privilege that it is. Finally, the motivation to self-educate is diminished when someone can just "take a class." The result is a state-run education system that holds the keys to knowledge and taxes the people more and more as the burden to educate increases. Because education will have become an official right rather than a privilege, it will be a program that the government cannot cut when economic times go lean. Because [nearly] everyone will be educated, either the country will rely on foreign production (again, "jobs Americans just won't do") or else the head janitor at the university will have to have at least a Master's degree to hold the position.
Hyperbole aside, this is a possibility we face: as education becomes more available, its value diminishes. That means students will spend more time in school to be competitive in the job market. The more time a student spends in school, the less time he or she spends working and accumulating wealth. Less time at work and less wealth accumulation means a lower GDP and lower tax revenues. A lower GDP means being less competitive in the "global market," and lower tax revenues means either cutting programs (yeah, right), or increasing state and national debt. As state and national debt increase, taxes go up. As taxes increase, wealth accumulation decreases further until one generation can't afford to educate the next. What's left is an uneducated generation that has to either leave the country to find work, lower their standards for quality of life and quality of work, or rebuild the system from the ground up.
At some point, the system either changes or collapses.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Great Prop 8 Debate
On the Left we have the argument that if the California courts allow Proposition 8, a dangerous precedent will be set that allows the voting majority to oppress a minority by amending the constitution to bar them from exercising their rights.
On the Right we have the argument that if the California courts deny Proposition 8, a dangerous precedent will be set that allows the courts to dictate to the people what can be written into their constitution which begins "We the People . . . ," leaving residents to wonder what happened to the notion of a government "of the People, by the People, for the People."
As a Christian, I face a different internal dialogue.
On the one hand, I think the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a violation of God's standards for righteousness. As a Christian with a vote, I supported Proposition 8 at the ballot box because I know that one day I will have to explain to my children why some of their friends have to mommies or two daddies. How am I to explain to my child that in this great country that we are to love and support, we sometimes have laws that contradict what God wants us to do? Moreover, how am I to ensure that my children understand that their rights come from God and not the government when the government is inventing new rights that directly contradict the word of God?
On the other hand, I think the Bible is clear that as a Christian, my life is to be different from that of the world at large. As the world rejects God's standards more, Christianity will be more distinct and therefore each believer will be a stronger witness of Christ. What the world does or what the government does should have little effect on me, my family, or the Church as a whole. Christians are to win hearts, minds, and souls, not elections. Should I not allow people so adamant about legitimizing this lifestyle live out their experiment and have the results visible to the whole world for better or worse? How long before we simply shake the dust from our feet and focus on keeping ourselves from being corrupted by the world?
I suppose that in the end, the mentality by which I will live is up to the courts.
On the Right we have the argument that if the California courts deny Proposition 8, a dangerous precedent will be set that allows the courts to dictate to the people what can be written into their constitution which begins "We the People . . . ," leaving residents to wonder what happened to the notion of a government "of the People, by the People, for the People."
As a Christian, I face a different internal dialogue.
On the one hand, I think the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a violation of God's standards for righteousness. As a Christian with a vote, I supported Proposition 8 at the ballot box because I know that one day I will have to explain to my children why some of their friends have to mommies or two daddies. How am I to explain to my child that in this great country that we are to love and support, we sometimes have laws that contradict what God wants us to do? Moreover, how am I to ensure that my children understand that their rights come from God and not the government when the government is inventing new rights that directly contradict the word of God?
On the other hand, I think the Bible is clear that as a Christian, my life is to be different from that of the world at large. As the world rejects God's standards more, Christianity will be more distinct and therefore each believer will be a stronger witness of Christ. What the world does or what the government does should have little effect on me, my family, or the Church as a whole. Christians are to win hearts, minds, and souls, not elections. Should I not allow people so adamant about legitimizing this lifestyle live out their experiment and have the results visible to the whole world for better or worse? How long before we simply shake the dust from our feet and focus on keeping ourselves from being corrupted by the world?
I suppose that in the end, the mentality by which I will live is up to the courts.
Monday, March 2, 2009
How Our Democracy Is Going Greek
Most people know that democracy is a Greek concept. Most of us have seen the etymology "Demos" = "people"; "cracy" = "rule." That's not what I'm talking about.
American Democracy is characterized by our two party system--Democrats and Republicans always assume office, and everyone else just takes up space on the ballot (mostly). When we register to vote, we are encouraged to select the party with whom we agree most. When we vote, we often do so along party lines because we figure they've done the hard work of thinking it all out for us. Let's hold on to that thought for a minute.
It used to be that the church you attended really said something about your beliefs. Baptists (of every sort), Methodists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, all knew what they believed and all knew they had it "more right" than anyone else. I dare say that your denomination was a factor in your identity.
The ancient Greeks had a different idea. Their religion was not as much about faithfulness or righteousness as it was about results. You pray to the god that helps you, and when the results are not what you want, you move on to another and try him/her for a while.
I see a shift happening in American politics. In case you didn't notice, "conservative" and "Republican" look less alike every day. The so-called "conservative base" didn't vote and McCain lost--even though he was "their candidate." From what I hear on conservative talk radio, voters are ready to leave their denominationalism behind and vote for what they think will work. This is not a result of the people abandoning their principles, it's the politicians that have left their foundation and begun building on sand.
I think we're going Greek.
American Democracy is characterized by our two party system--Democrats and Republicans always assume office, and everyone else just takes up space on the ballot (mostly). When we register to vote, we are encouraged to select the party with whom we agree most. When we vote, we often do so along party lines because we figure they've done the hard work of thinking it all out for us. Let's hold on to that thought for a minute.
It used to be that the church you attended really said something about your beliefs. Baptists (of every sort), Methodists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, all knew what they believed and all knew they had it "more right" than anyone else. I dare say that your denomination was a factor in your identity.
The ancient Greeks had a different idea. Their religion was not as much about faithfulness or righteousness as it was about results. You pray to the god that helps you, and when the results are not what you want, you move on to another and try him/her for a while.
I see a shift happening in American politics. In case you didn't notice, "conservative" and "Republican" look less alike every day. The so-called "conservative base" didn't vote and McCain lost--even though he was "their candidate." From what I hear on conservative talk radio, voters are ready to leave their denominationalism behind and vote for what they think will work. This is not a result of the people abandoning their principles, it's the politicians that have left their foundation and begun building on sand.
I think we're going Greek.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)