Putting Our Brains on Hold

[elleng]

The world leadership qualities of the United States, once so prevalent, are fading faster than the polar ice caps. . .

The College Board (...) tells us that the U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations.

At a time when a college education is needed more than ever to establish and maintain a middle-class standard of living, America’s young people are moving in exactly the wrong direction. A well-educated population also is crucially important if the U.S. is to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment.

But instead of exercising the appropriate mental muscles, we’re allowing ourselves to become a nation of nitwits, obsessed with the comings and goings of Lindsay Lohan and increasingly oblivious to crucially important societal issues that are all but screaming for attention. What should we be doing about the legions of jobless Americans, the deteriorating public schools, the debilitating wars, the scandalous economic inequality, the corporate hold on governmental affairs, the commercialization of the arts, the deficits?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/opinion/07herbert.html?ref=opinion

[WheelWalker]

1. Kick and Recommend...... nt

:kick:

[tavalon]

2. Cannon fodder rarely needs a college degree

It's really hard to see when it's right in front of your face, but we are rapidly devolving from a first world to a banana republic with a small oligarchy and lots of wars to distract the populous. Because you can generally still get basics without standing in a line, it's easy to believe what I'm saying is hyperbole and maybe it is, this year. Maybe I'm just ahead of the curve in seeing what is coming.