Becoming Educated

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE of intelligence in America, and presumably no where else. Plenty of talent to go around. And just think of the hundreds and hundreds of great universities in the United States! You'd think we'd all be really, really smart. And no, those universities are not hangouts for wacko ivory tower loser types, but rather, they are bastions of learning, intelligence, and progress, where very intelligent people gather. So, what is our problem? Why all the misinformation, the ignorance, the outright stupidity? It takes a lot of training to fully utilize those big human brains, and, due to evolutionary factors, those brains often get in their own way. Thus, we end up with a society full of superstitious, fearful citizens, people who embrace primitive, false religions and philosophies, people who do not want to accept the reality of the modern world that has been and is being revealed to us through the advancement of knowledge. It may be that the best form of government, in the long run, is a benevolent dictatorship; but its too late for that. We have decided that we must govern ourselves. So be it, all well and good, but self governance requires well educated people, with critical thinking skills, as our American "founding fathers" understood. It the critical thinking skills we lack, our failure to turn ourselves into citizens and philosophers.Maybe our descendants will do better than we. If they don't, heaven help them, and may the devil take them.