This one is probably the closest I will get to a political post. I want to talk education and entitlement. Giving you some background on me first. I am the product of sixteen years of Catholic/ Jesuit private schooling, and I am in no way advocating one religion over another, and I think there are equal opportunities in the Public School sytem....sometimes. I have no clue the exact dollar amount of my education, but I imagine it is far more than I can possibly fathom spending in a year now! However, I have many friends (who remain nameless) who work in education, and I am rather disgusted at how our political system/ country has allowed our education to become nothing short of another entitlement program! Our health care system is bad enough, and I do not think we need another black hole for our government to throw money into. I will not get into the political jargon associated with this whole thing, but it is no secret the state of our economy as of today May 19th. Our unemployment rate remains staggering, new home sales are at an all time low, and we seem to be more worried about the guy/ gal who demands help from others. I understand that I am a very PRIVILEGED individual by having the OPPORTUNITY to have such a great education, and I have taken advantage of my PRIVILEGES as a young American to work hard and make a living. I am by no means a millionaire, but I live a healthy/ reasonable lifestyle.
Today, more Americans feel entitled to everything. No child left behind!?! Sounds great on the political stage front! Forget that!! Invest in the future of our country. Rather than going through the motions of education with blinders and earmuffs, only to have one more moron (yes I said it) entering our job market to contribute to what!?! Our political landscape only encourages this kind of crap. It sounds so great to have "no child left behind", but our country is now left in the dust. Our country is left behind when we put our CNN, Fox News, CNBC political tickers before the real needs of this nation. We have kids refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, Americans fighting for the rights of illegal immigrants, etc! I assure you..."no child left behind" is bullshit. When that kid that graduates just because he attended all of his classes, not paying a bit of attention, distracting the kids actually trying to obtain a proper education...we are losing! That child trying to pay attention is indeed left behind because the kid next to him is distracting him with why school sucks. Why worry about the kid going through the motions/ not standing for the Pledge...He won't contribute to the future success of our country. Because it looks so great to have a higher graduation rate when you are running for mayor, governor, senator, president!?!
I feel as a young American, a person who really cares about our Country, that we should worry less about entitlement programs. In a country where our middle class is constantly shrinking, and the upper/ lower class is growing...we are focussed on the wrong issues. We do not take care of our teachers (most of my friends have not received a raise in three years). What incentive is there for them to educate to their potential. Let's just get through the day! This is a band aid to fix the masses of Americans who have stood in line with their hands out for generations. I am sorry that so many children are the product of broken homes, impoverished lifestyles, violence, etc (I feel horrible about using 'etc' here as it certainly does not do any justice). Stop acting like we are doing the right thing....DO THE RIGHT THING! We can constantly take care of the people that are in economic or undereducated systems, or we can take the right steps to fix the generation "NOW" that is responsible for shaping our country's future. Obama preaches "CHANGE"...Ok...This is awesome. However, I was not one of the naive voters that actually thought our country could change in 4 years with one man. That would be like going from an infant to a grown adult in a 24 hour period. The necessary changes need to be made today to foster a "CHANGE" generation...maybe generations from now. I have a better idea....let's just keep electing based on our ignorance. Ignorance...after all...is bliss.
I will end this post with one question for you...When was the last time you looked on the bottom of a product and it said "MADE IN AMERICA?" We need to make more Americans before you start seeing the future of our Country shape back into the mold we all demand, but seemingly don't expect! Sorry if I pissed you off...I am already there
