Daily Mood Quote
Day 243 – January 18, 2012
But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.
~Colin Powell
Albert Einstein said, “In a healthy nation there is a kind of dramatic balance between the will of the people and the government, which prevents its degeneration into tyranny.” What do we consider to be a healthy nation today? Last night on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, I listened to a story about a Philadelphia area school district that did not have enough money to make it to the end of the school year. The State Department of Education has promised enough money to make payroll for a month. Then they are right back in the same situation. My husband has a favorite saying for this kind of behavior that is becoming an epidemic, “it's a band-aid on a bullet wound!” and if they are willing to “bail” on one school district, how many others will follow? Also, this position sets precedence and exposes the fundamental problem with the “No Child Left Behind Act.” It takes the most money from the districts that need it most. So, instead of leaving one child behind, thousands are being left behind; about 6000 in this particular case... Brilliant!
So, "now to the crux of the biscuit." Why are school districts underfunded? It's really simple, we have abandoned the fundamental premise that our children come first, always. Partisan politics, “what's in it for me” legislation, the fundamental neglect of the very basics of society, have left us crumbling roads, falling bridges and non-competitive and dilapidated schools; who may have tremendous athletic programs, but no money for arts, math and sciences. What's wrong with this picture? There is no easy answer and I'll admit that: It's all wrapped up in a big messy ball of entitlements, tax loop holes, abatements, and a struggling economy. There is not one clear string you can hold onto that isn't connected to something else. Now, it is kind of like a game of pick-up sticks, you can't move one without affecting another. A house doesn’t crumble in a day, it comes apart with time and neglect and that is what we have done to our children's future. While the past two generations enjoyed credit fueled vacations at Disney World and gorged on cheap imported goods, we have let our house, the place where our children spend there time attempting to learn and grow, fall apart board by board member. We only have ourselves to blame for this. Politicians may rattle on about how our government's budget overages will be paid for by our children, while continuing to approve wasteful self-serving projects, congressional junkets and pork barrels; none of which have anything to do with educating our future generations. Then we let them give themselves raises, again and again and again! To quote the cartoon Pogo “I have seen the enemy and he is us.” A generation that has had the advantage of higher education, forged on the sweat of a determined post-depression generation, has chosen to not pass the torch of American ingenuity and community centered drive to our children; but to leave that flame to flicker and die in a heap of Happy Meal boxes and video games.
I realize that it's hard to put down our own self interests of low taxes and easy patches, that don't solve the problems just cover them up; to turn a blind eye to the future of our nation and hope that some new technology will suddenly “pop up” and fix everything. It won't; especially if we aren't putting in a real effort to “teach our children well” (Thanks Crosby Stills, Nash and Young). Its hard to say; yes I'll put down the remote and think before I vote. It's hard to spend time researching our representative's activities, wade through the rhetoric and attack ads, and let them know we disapprove. It's hard to stand up and say “No more!” (thanks Jim Belushi from The Principal). But, as the late John F. Kennedy, in a voice that powered America into space and helped create all the great innovations we now accept as normal, once said. “...not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...” Have we forgotten so soon? None of our best future happens without educating our young people, for they will become what we show them today. Tune in tomorrow for “the rest of the story” (a special thanks and “tip of the hat” to the late Paul Harvey).
How will you view “tomorrow” today?
Tune in tomrorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
