Wow.

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An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Even here in the US, the same truth prevails: get your education, and no one can take it away from you. Physical attributes diminish, wealth can erode or disappear, someone can shoot and kill you for no reason, but no one can make you dumber once you've become educated.

JV

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JV

What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know...it's what we know for sure that just ain't so

I agree, but as is being discussed in this thread, apparently most of society does not.

I wasn't being sarcastic when I said above that people from communist and socialist countries think that way. It is true. Education is one of the few areas that communist and socialist countries do well in. And very likely is due to this factor.

I think it is human nature to want to compete and do better than your peers. If you take away the ability to compete financially (which communism certainly does), then people will find another way to compete. In the case of communist countries, that tends to be in the areas of education, science, and even sports.

I disagree.

I think it is more to do with culture (ie Confucian, Jewish) not ideology. I attest to that since I am surrounded by siblings and their spouses with Ivy League Phds and Doctors. (Well obviously I am an exception to that.) In some cultures book-smart kids are celabrated as jocks are here.

If communist and socialist countries excells in academics, it is probably they are less exposed to the mass media, or don't have better extra curricular activies. I will probably have to look up some data to support this.

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BMW The Ultimate Oil-Leaking Machines!

It will end when people begin to follow a moral compass. No amount of money can match being morally trained to do what is right weather it's in the inner cities or Enron's boardrooms or in the Whitehouse. Now; when do you think that is going to happen? If you can figure that out you will have your answer.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Take a look at Cuba as an example some of the best athletes in the world, and most of the best doctors except for the technology advance in other countries including ours!!!!

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I agree vehemently. Where (and when) I grew up, if you were smart, you were automatically cool, regardless of social standing, or whether or not you were "easy on the eyes." The problem is, obviously, multifactorial, and there are no easy solutions. Maybe I'm being a bit idealistic, but I think if we start with what we CAN control, and teach our own children the importance of education and its attributes, respect for themselves and for others, and educate them on the fleeting nature of popularity, popular culture, and material things, then that's certainly a start.

Cuba is an excellent example of what I was talking about.

They are a very interesting case because they are a very poor country, yet somehow they have managed to create such a good education system, and probably the best health care system in the world.

I know that last statement is going to send shock waves through most of the people reading this, but it is true. No surpise that you don't read much about this in the American press. Cuba has more doctors per capita than any other country in the world. They also rank higher than just about every country when it comes to vital health statistics such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and HIV infection rates. While the US has a trade embargo against Cuba, most of the European countries have been trading when them for years. And while sugar and tabacco are their largest exports, a close third is vacines and medicine.

And just to be clear, this is not something that is "cultural". It may have become cultural after many years, but 50 years ago Cuba had the culture of downtown Las Vegas, except without regulation. In 1955, Cuba had a literacy rate of less than 40%. In the early 60s, the communist government poured money into education, and within 5 years, literacy was over 80%, and today is even higher than the US.

This idea that it has to come from within is nonsense. It is propoganda spread by a government that wants to take your tax money, and instead of spending it on programs for the people, they want to hand it out as corporate welfare and unnecessary no-bid contracts for their buddies in big industry. If the government wants to accomplish anything at all, they can do it.

In 1961 when JFK said we would go to the moon by the end of the decade, that seemed impossible. But money and resources were unlimited, and they made it happen. If the Cuban government can educate their entire population within 5 years, I'm pretty sure we can teach geography and some other basic education skills to our kids. If our government cannot even do that, then it is time to get a new one.