Every election year – and I have been given to understand that this is one of those years – we are inundated with politicians and their plans for educating our “workforce.”

Well, I have visited the the Hellholes known as cable television and the Infernal Internet, and maybe we should switch our emphasis to “educated citizens.”

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I am not downplaying the need to have better educated workers in this country, especially as we face increased international competition for jobs. But honestly, why don’t we talk about raising the educational level for everyone, whether they are in the much-ballyhooed workforce or not?

We don’t stop learning simply because we graduate from high school or college, and it would be nice if leaders on the national – or even the local – level spoke about that, about the need to keep ourselves informed, to read a newspaper at least a couple of times a week, and maybe even subscribe to a general interest magazine or two.

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Or maybe even read more books, as painful as that may be for some to hear?

I am constantly assailed with links from liberal/conservative/right-wing/left-wing mews sites, all written from a particular point of view. Someone may have more specialized knowledge of a particular type if they only get their news from one or two such sites, but I’m not sure they are a whole lot smarter.

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And, of course, there is Facebook, where American history and science are often mangled beyond all recognition.

I’d be almost happy to endorse the first politician to come down the pike who is willing to break away from the cliches, and talk about the fact that we all need to be more educated, and that we need to be educating ourselves all the time.

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It might make Facebook seem a whole lot smarter, political debates more intelligent, and maybe, just maybe, the demise of People magazine . . . which would be a laudable goal all on its own.

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Quote of the Day

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Hostility to youth is the worst vice of the middle-aged. – J.A. Spender

rsdrake@cox.net

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