by  Houston Wade
 

PART ONE:  VOTER IGNORANCE

"It is not enough to teach man a specialty...  He must learn to understand
the motives of human beings, their illusions, and their sufferings in order
to acquire a proper relationship to individual fellow-man and to the
community."  -Albert Einstein

What Einstein was trying to elaborate in this quote in a letter to the New
York Times is that if we only use our schools to teach people a vocational
skill then we will end up with a population that "...more closely resemble a
well-trained dog than a harmoniously developed person."  Einstein saw that
people are too easily lead and do not question or seek to understand why
things are the way they are.  Einstein was weary of voter ignorance and
experienced the problems first hand in Germany where the citizens looked to
the first person to offer answers to their woeful problems, Hitler.

Sociologist Ilya Somin recently warned people as to the dangers of voter
ignorance, Somin writes of this:  "...voter ignorance imperils the
instrumental case for democracy as a regime that serves the interests of the
majority, since ignorance potentially opens the door for both elite
manipulation of the public and gross policy errors caused by politicians'
need to appeal to an ignorant electorate in order to win office."

Throughout the twentieth century government after government manipulated
uneducated populations to serve there own fascist agendas banking on the
principle Abraham Lincoln put into words, "...You can fool all of the people
some of the time..."  Only when it was too late did the populations realize
what had happened in their countries.  The United States caught one of the
totalitarian opportunists before it was too late in Joseph McCarthy, a man
who brought about a red scare in this country leading to people's lack of
trust in their friends, government and heroes.  The problem in the McCarthy
Era was that it was the beginning of the cold war and the US government used
propaganda films to scare people into submission in the battle against
communists, this was made easier by the fact that people did not truly
understand their own economic system let alone a communist one.  It was an
easy means to pull the wool over a population's eyes.

I have come to the conclusion that all people can benefit from learning as
much about opposing ideals, religions, and economic systems as they possibly
can and it should be encouraged in school.  It is dangerous when a person
adopts an ideal without first seeking the opposing side's argument; I see
this occur in American politics all the time.  People complaining about
Presidential candidate Al Gore and his fund raising mistake at the Buddhist
temple in California.  "He's taking money from the Red Chinese, damnit!"

People shouted from the hills.  I then ask them what the difference is
between the Chinese giving our country's candidates money and the US
government financing the overthrow of a legitimate government in Chile
installing a fascist dictator; or even supplying countries with weapons to
engage in battle with enemy states as we did with Iraq to war with Iran.  To
this people seem astonished.  They see no relation of the two things; after
all, we are the country of freedom and capitalism, they are the Red Chinese.

If only the voters were more educated they would see that China in fact has
quickly become the purist system of laissez-faire capitalism in the world.
They have no laws against child labor; they are lax with human rights; they
will gladly exploit their natural resources for economic gain; pollute to
have a cheaper, more efficient manufacturing process; and all the profits go
to less than 6% of the population, the card carrying members of the
communist party.  Modern day China sounds a lot like the robber-barons of
nineteenth and twentieth century America to me.  If China were truly
communist would not all the people earn the same wage regardless of the
position they held?

Voter ignorance stems from a simple lack of education.  Sociologist David
Cieply argues in a rebuttal to Somin's paper on voter ignorance that it is a
functional matter and that democracy depends on it in order to work.  Cieply
writes for 30 pages and cannot claim one thing beneficial from voter
ignorance.  Voter ignorance can do such damage in California where the
people voted to deregulate the power industry and found out that private
companies cannot run the utilities efficiently.  The cost of electricity has
more than doubled in the past five years while the public has experienced
frequent brownouts.  The people were told stories about how government
control of the utilities is not capitalist and that it does not foster
ingenuity from competition.  The problem is that when one company controls
the power industry and that one company has no worries from competition they
shoot for the bottom dollar and not for the service itself.  When the
government ran the power companies they had no choice but to keep the price
low and to provide the service to the people because they did not shoot for
profit.  The people of California were never made aware of this because the
government did not run adds espousing their side of the argument as the power
industry did so the people were never aware of both sides of the argument.

In schools people need to be more informed about all ideologies, they need
to be led into a state of perpetual cynicism and be taught to question why
things are the way they are.  Only then will we have an active voting
population that is well informed in the arena of public policy.

PART TWO: CRIME

Why do most people commit crimes?  Many people have tried to find the answer
to this from genetic defects to the fact they have Satan inside them.  I propose a
more simple argument; people commit crimes for the following reasons:

1)  They have never learned alternative methods to getting what they want or need.

2) They have never learned alternative methods of problem solving, discussing the
issue with the other party, just tolerating the opposite side's issues.

3) They have unsubstantiated fears of what they don't understand
(i.e. racism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry).

4) They never learned what was needed in school to ensure a profitable
experience in life after education and in order to survive turn to a life of crime.  And

5) People have never learned to foresee cause and effect and to
recognize to value and needs of life and property.  In other words have
never totally been taught any ideal that helps people have a mutual respect
for others and their property.  All of the above reasons for crime stem from
ignorance in one form or another and ignorance is related to a lack of education.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States printed by the Census Bureau
shows that 24% of those that never attained a high school diploma live in
abject poverty.  The book also shows that the crime rate for those that live
in poverty is almost twice as high as those that do not.  Mississippi which
is statistically the poorest state in the nation also has the highest percentage
of non-high school graduates and the highest murder rate in the country.

The opposite is true for states with better education systems like Connecticut
which has the top education system in the US and the one of the lowest rates
of murder.  The lowest are reserved for those that live in an almost perpetual
winter; Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire and Alaska.
 

PART THREE:  CONFLICT RESOLUTION

As the saying goes, hind sight is 20/20; this is true but one only relies on
hind sight when one cannot accurately determine cause and effect.  Example:
at the end of the first World War president Woodrow Wilson actively sought a
means to ensure peace at a large scale by means of creating the League of
Nations the precursor to the United Nations.  Wilson said, "It must be peace
without victory...  Victory would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor's
terms imposed upon the vanquished.  It would be accepted in humiliation,
under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment,
a bitter memory upon which terms of peace would not rest, not permanently,
but only as upon quicksand.  Only a pace between equals can last."

The people not wanting the US to be involved in war instead chose to become
isolationists closing their eyes to the problems of the rest of the world.
In the end it turns out that the informed statesman, Woodrow Wilson, was correct
and the ignorant masses calling for neglect at an international level were wrong.
Germany was left in a horrible financial state at the end of W.W.I and felt belittled
and bitter about the end of the war just as Wilson had predicted.

In turn the poor and ignorant masses of Germany placed Hitler into power resulting in
Europe's involvement in World War II.  At the same time Japan amassed a large
empire in a similar fashion as Germany did prior to W.W.I; thus the Asian Pacific
involvement in W.W.II. The US was trying to look the other way until it was too late;
Pearl Harbor was in ruins.

It seems the US learned our lesson at the end of World War II and we
actively sought resolution by expanding the League of Nations by creating
the United Nations.  While there have been wars since the formation of the
UN there has been nothing in comparison to the widespread carnage
experienced in the World Wars.  Now it seems the people of the US have
recanted, almost retrograded in their opinion of the UN.  There has been an
outcry from the right wing for the US to pull out of the UN and large
mistrust of the government itself because it is involved with such an
organization.  The fear is that the UN is actually striving to create a New
World Order and kill off all of the Christians of the world.

This argument is bogus and dangerous in its ignorance.  First, the UN and it's
respective loan programs are almost entirely funded with US dollars, public and
private.  Because of this the US has the majority vote as to where those
funds go.  The US also controls the majority of the debt experienced by the
rest of the world from IMF and World Bank loans.  If anything the US would
be in charge if there ever there were a NWO.  As for the extermination of
Christians not only does it sound ridiculous and paranoid but there are more
than 1.9 billion Christians world wide; more than any other religious group.
The US itself has a majority Christian population with an excessive amount
of Christians in the elected offices.

The UN is the premiere organization for international conflict resolution,
what good is a global society if we all become isolationists?  As for other
forms of conflict resolution...

Most conflicts arise from a lack of understanding of the opposing side(s).
Racism and homophobia in the US comes from learned ignorance and fear of
what one does not know.  If one were more informed of those which they have
a bigoted hatred of there would be no qualms for debate.  Scapegoats have
had a profound significance throughout history; it is interesting that the
current right wing in the US, the right wing that runs on issues of personal
accountability is the same driving force behind the bigoted movements that
rely on scapegoating individuals and indistinct minorities such as white
supremacy, xenophobic and anti-homosexual groups.  Arguments made with a
lack of information while utilizing propaganda that reinforces hatred due to
one's ignorance of the actual facts and data make it hard to find a resolution
to ongoing conflicts that have the capability to erupt in violence.

If one were to ask a Protestant in Northern Ireland why he wants to kill
Catholics he would respond, "They killed my brother."  The same answer would
be given by a Catholic if asked that very same question.  The same can be
said for the Balkan States, India and Pakistan, Israelis and Palestinians
and even in the conflict that resides in the inner-cities in America.  They
have no idea why they are fighting; they are just doing what they have been
taught.  It is the Hatfields and McCoys on a larger, scarier scale.

The only way I can see profound improvement among the conflicts around the
world is if people would just let bygones be bygones.  People should try to
learn more about each other and appreciate the fact that we can be so
diversified.  As for religious conflicts there is no point for skirmishes.
One cannot prove one way or another if a one particular religion is the
right one or if there is in fact any reason we should believe in one or not
and people if they were aware would realize this.

Too many people see violence as a way to solve trifle conflicts.  Many
people around the world believe that hitting a child keeps them from doing
something wrong.  I disagree, it makes them fearful of those with the
strength to hit them and fosters resentment as former President Wilson
stated earlier.  A child must know why he or she should not commit to an
action.  They must be taught how to deduce the consequences their actions
have on others and the things around them.  Kids are not dumb, just ignorant.

If a man were to lay insults into another and that other instead of trying
to understand the man's frustration hit the man instead there would be a
feud at hand.  We rely on instinct too much as a society and it gets a lot
of people hurt.  Crimes of passion are statistically the most deadly.

I wish people would try to accept the fact that other people are not always
enemies, just people with a different way of looking at a situation.  People
get frustrated when others do not see things the same way as themselves and
are libel to lash out in this frustration creating more of a problem than
there was in the first place.  This happens when one does not have the
know-how to express their concerns verbally.  An article in the Seattle
times recently found that toddlers are more violent with others simply
because they do not posses extensive language ability to communicate with
others their own age.  Thus to solve their social incongruence they
physically batter the other child to lay the impression that they are equals
and want social interaction as well.

PART FOUR:  GENERAL PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION.

The education system in the US is not doing its job of educating.  This is
an obvious statement I make.  My personal belief is that it is due to a lack
of funding and by the fact that students are not given respect in their roles
at school.  Schools treat students like criminals even if they are not; in response
to this treatment the students fulfill the expectations that were set up for them
by becoming troublesome.  Citing personal experience from when I was in
middle school the administration decided that the limited bad behavior of the
students could be reduced by enacting more rules.

The belief was that if there were more rules students would obey them.
This was an idiotic theory.  Not only did the students not obey the
new rules they figured they might as well not obey all the rules and
behavior got out of hand.  Adolescent teens will rebel against anything they
can; all they need is a reason and something to establish itself as an
authority.  After I moved on to high school the middle school enacted a rule
stating that no student is allowed to get out of his or her seat during the
duration of lunch; video cameras were used to enforce this.

The result: The video cameras were stolen and there was a food fight that was
so severe the police had to be called.  It seams that the education system has
lost its focus of educating and placed all of its attention into rule enforcement
and behavior control.  Instead of being an institution that placed students
as equals that have a duty the schools instead have become an authoritarian
almost totalitarian home to the fascist ideals that under normal circumstances
would not be tolerated at one's own work.

Children are not evil by nature they are ignorant by nature.
I think schools should spend less time and money on worrying about metal
detectors and security forces and more time and money finding teachers that
are not relying on teaching certificates to get them by when they make fail
in their intended careers.  I have had a few teachers where this was the
case and all of them were not good at teaching either.

Many think that to solve the problem of ill fallen schools is to use school
vouchers and create charter schools.  I am not for school vouchers because
it basically gives the wealthy a payment break for their children's private
education while not providing enough funding to send poor students to expensive
schools.  The argument for charter schools is that if contract out education to
private companies it would foster an environment of competition and would
produce higher yielding schools.  This will not happen; I refer the reader back
to the deregulation of the power utilities in California for my example.

Companies shoot for bottom dollar they do not care about an end
product unless there is a large bureaucracy enforcing the codes.  When given
the first chance charter schools will pile 40 kids to a class room and have
two part time teachers teaching classes because if they made them full time
they would have to pay for benefits and that is not cost productive.  I don't
want a CEO in charge of teaching children while keeping an eye in the bottom
dollar.  I want there to be no need for schools to worry about funding, ever.

In South Carolina, (the school system that is quickly becoming the worst in
the country) the state legislature granted tax relief to its citizens and to
relieve the state budget laid off 1,400 teachers.  South Carolina already
has the most crowded class rooms in the country and a college degree is not
even required to teach.  As a result to the budget bungle in South Carolina
the state is 600 teachers short for opening the school year.  Why when it
comes to money the children are the ones to receive funding cuts first?

Recently in Washington State the voters ruled to overturn the state's
Affirmative Action policy reducing the number of minority applicants to
state four year colleges.  I am a white, middle-class male and I will never
have a problem getting an education or getting a job; I don't care if
someone receives a "leg up" on me.  Kudos to them.  Minorities in this
country have been stepped on enough and it is about time we stopped it.

Since I am a physics major I will use an example of a law of physics to
illustrate my point:  In physics there is the Law of Elasticity; it states
that all matter is elastic and that all things can be stretched and skewed
but will return to their original shape when left alone.  The law also
states that if something is stretched or bent enough there is a point at
which the object will not return to its original shape.  In order to return
the object to its original shape it must be bent or stretched exceedingly in
the opposite direction.

My example is this:  Say racial equality takes the form of a metal ruler;
the white majority has bent the ruler so to favor whites so much that when
they let go the ruler stayed bent that way.  If we are to give minorities an
equal playing field we are first going to have to lay the hurt on whitey for a
while by bending the ruler exceedingly in their direction giving the minorities a leg up.

When we let go of the ruler it will spring back to a position where it is flat and level.
Affirmative Action is us just bending the ruler for a while that is all.

PART FIVE:  THE CONCLUSION

In my time doing research for this paper I was not deterred one bit from my
original goal of illustrating the dysfunction that can arise do to people's
ignorance.  In fact I believe that my research strengthened my point more.
I found many articles, essays, and novels written explicitly to warn people
of the dangers of ignorance and how we should deal with it.

The US is becoming less of an economy that relies less on the ability of its
citizens to manufacture goods; this can be seen with all of the companies
moving out of our traditional industrial hubs and instead vying for the
cheaper labor of the third world.  Our economy is becoming more technology
based and more white collar.  We need start educating people in the ways of
our new economy.  Sociological functionalists would claim that we are
becoming dysfunctional due to our inability to adapt to the new needs of a
new economy.  Education should be the foremost important goal of our society
and we should not let anyone fail in their own respect because they never
learned or even knew they had to option to learn new things.  Knowledge is
power and true power is understanding that knowledge and using it for the
greater good of us all.

I know that I did not include all of the problem areas associated with
ignorance but I feel that I have made a respectable argument for my point of
view and hope others, most importantly my professor understand my claim, finally.