3The Product of Thought
We live in a country where many believe that man is born completely inefficient, obtaining everything he requires from those around him. He is influenced by each person he meets, until eventually he becomes a complete product of the society around him. We live in a country of freedoms: freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of life. We live in a country ruled by power, religious power, financial power, hierarchical power, organizational power, and intellectual power. From education, politics, and government, today this country is more screwed up than ever before. I don't want to force my views upon anyone, but I hope that after reading this you will all feel that what I have to say truly is worth hearing.
In the United States law requires that each child be educated to the degree that he or she is literate and functional in society. The educational system in high schools across the country is a joke, and personally I find most of the learning material offensive to my intelligence. I'm so tired of reading their textbooks and filling in the blanks just so that I can throw it away the next day. Writing papers by a set of strict guidelines just so that my teacher can grade me not on the thoughts and ideas put into the paper, but by whether or not I formatted my paper to fit standards. I can't draw, I can't act, and I try my best as a musician, but I think of writing as my art; and I don't need someone telling me that I can't express myself in the ways that I want on the mediums that I want to express it on. How many people tell an artist he can't use paint together with crayon on the same piece of art? It's all part of my freedom of expression, and I'd rather not have it taken away.
The teachers of America need to stop and realize that teaching by the book accomplishes nothing. Teachers need to teach against the book, inspire the youth of today in a way that learning should. These schools need to sit down and think of the possibilities that these kids could create for our country, and all the other countries of the world. Students in schools don't do their homework to learn, they don't go to school to have fun, they do all this for fear of consequences if they don't. Students fear that by not going to school he/she could get in trouble with the law. By not doing homework a student will in turn get bad grades, causing angry parents and consequences. By not graduating high school and college that same student won't be allowed to get a good job and make enough money to support themselves in this world; more consequences. Why must this society be run purely on the basis that with fear comes control, and with control comes fear? Why do we have to follow these stupid rules that only make our lives that much harder to bear. Brilliant minds are being wasted each day, and why, so that children can be made to believe that 2 plus 2 equals 4. Well I say don't believe it, they have no proof.
The real reasons why we have to put up with all this stupidity in schools today is the government itself. The money for funding schools comes straight from the government. They tell you it comes from your tax dollars, but where do your tax dollars go? Without the government the schools would have no way of supporting themselves, so how in a perfect world (one without government intervention) would this be possible? Easy; community funds. Similar to taxes, the community would pay funds to support the schools, police stations, and other currently government-run facilities. Then why you ask, do we need government? I might ask the same question, but I'm sure you don't want to hear it.
The point of this article is not to sway anyone into becoming an anarchist or a socialist, or anything of the type. I simply want to make it clear to people that this world and everything in it can be a lot more interesting if you just stop and think about it for ten seconds. Think of all the decisions you've made throughout your life, and wonder, what if? What if you never had to go to school as a youth, would your life be more enjoyable? What if you didn't have to go to school, what if you could get a job and support yourself without wasting the best years of your life to get what they call an "education?" What if everything that you've believed in for so many years has all been a lie, how would you feel? Could you even accept it if everything I said here was true? People need to explore the possibilities in life, try new things out, even if you truly dislike them. I know atheists that have gone to church only a few times and became believers. I know Christians that have put their faith to the test, only to realize they never really believed in the first place. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in life, and one of the most important is to never completely trust anything, not people, not books, not movies, not even yourself. Now think to yourself, does 2 plus 2 REALLY equal 4?