An Educated Country

     The Founding Fathers talked about education a lot.  John Adams said that, "liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people." Edward Everett said, "education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army."
    In short, there are two different types of education. The first teaches you to read, write, add up math problems and figure out scientific notations. The second is the education of civil thinking. Civil thinking is the ability not only to read and write, but to apply those skills to understanding and participating intelligently in the affairs of the country. An understanding of the United States' heritage would be, above all, extremely important. The ability to examine and understand issues like policies and war would be a must.
    The Founding Fathers realized that if a democracy was going to exist and flourish, the people who had authority over the government must be educated, intelligent citizens who were aware of their past, present, and possible future positions. Thomas Jefferson pointed out that, "if a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
     So what happens when education, a fundamental tool in sustaining a republican-democracy, becomes corrupted? Would it not have the opposite effect of building a nation up? Wouldn't it, instead, tear it down? When people don't know their history, they cannot adequately make decisions about their future without making the same mistake twice--or a worse one. Education is only helpful when it encourages discernment, moral responsibility, and the love of one's country through thick and thin.
    Whether or not we're presently in that position is for you to decide.

- The Liberty Belle

Government Nannies