Originally, I set out to detail the specific elements of for-profit education for which I have respect. However, in light of the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, I would be remiss in my duty were I not to address what I believe to be the circumstances that have rendered our republic ineffectual, unrecognizable and all but irretrievable.
Conspicuously non-existent in my education were the classics: philosophy, the literary canon, and geography (cultural or physical). The emphasis, at that time, was primarily on science and engineering. These endeavors, we were told, would bolster the US geo-political position with respect to the stark realities of the cold war. More importantly though, an individual could expect to benefit financially and, thereby, achieve power and status with respect to his peers. The idea of wealth was not only individually attractive but venerated by society as philosophically virtuous in contrast to the beliefs of our communist enemies.
As we progressed into the 1980's, this philosophy transmogrified into religion and, with the blessing of the congregation/proletariat, the government proceeded to dismantle the evil regulatory impediments to practicing the corporate theology. Exorcism, also known as deregulation, became the primary weapon in the battle for the soul of the greatest country ever to be brought forth upon the earth. Additionally, in a loving effort to save those lost in the delusion of critical thought, the sacred texts were graciously donated to the heathen universities through the cooperative efforts of corporate missionaries and selfless benefactors.
With the onset of the 1990's, came the realization that the faith could not grow without the assistance of trained intelligence workers. To this end, all potential congregants, regardless of need, were offered many thousands of dollars to assist them in acquiring the skills needed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by newly expanded network of seminaries, commonly known as career colleges. These seminaries did away with all of the heretical texts of old and concentrated solely on scripture. In an effort to be fair to all potential congregants and clergy, these seminaries graciously limited their tuition to exactly the maximum amount of assistance the individual could receive from the service wing of the church, known commonly as the Federal Government. For the sake of accuracy, I must point out that, in keeping with the strict precepts of the faith, this assistance was actually provided by clergy (private corporate entities) so that any of the concommitant beatitudes (profits) would be realized by the righteous and only the potential risks would be shouldered by the congregation itself.
As a service to the children of the living corporation, the clergy decided to consolidate the mass media into a Canonical Council so as to verify that all information released as news was compliant with dogma. The heretical vanguard surrendered without a fight and the new regime set out with a missionary zeal to offer its flock around the clock thirty-minute parables suffused with twenty-second solutions designed to mitigate all of life's inconveniences. Further, the Council, acting on the authority of the clergy, vitriolicly attacked all remaining heretical thought employing any means necessary in the service of the one true faith. The resources employed for this mission paid off in spades! It worked so well that even those who are specifically excluded, and do not benefit from the blessings of the faith, vilify the heretical pursuits and those who dare to utter their content. All heretical thought has been marginalized and relegated to the nether-regions of the electronic forum, never to gain wide audience or respect.
In spite of the monumental strides toward the coronation of the one true church, practioners had, until Thursday, been hindered by an antiquated regulation; a remnant of the dark ages. This regulation, which had never undergone any serious challenge, forbid the church from participating in its most fundamental practices with respect to elections. Obviously, this manifestation of evil had to be eradicated from the sacred covenant of the holy land. To this end, five heroic crusaders emerged to carry the day for the righteous. These heroes, known as the Supreme Court Republicans of the United States (SCROTUS), vanquished the ideas of the four remaining heretics on their own panel and eliminated this last remaining obstacle to the crown. Notably, this victory is even more glorious, and their efforts more heroic, in light of the fact that they were not even asked openly to consider this issue.
I am of the same generation as our current president and was educated in what I was told were highly-ranked schools in the upper midwest. Although I have subsequently discovered that education is my avocation and pursued it with passion, I must confess that I feel ill-equipped to tackle the challenges that our country will face throughout the early part of the new century. In the shadow of our young nation's most impenetrable crisis, with all indicators pointing to fatal implosion, our fate rests on the best efforts of three generations of the indoctrinated, anti-intellectual and under-informed. Critical thought has been supplanted by the merchantable over-specialized skillsets favored by the Corporatocracy because they can be employed to good effect in the pursuit of commercial interests. What's more, even these commercially functional bodies of knowledge are eschewed openly and with wide audience. Now, with the advent of unlimited corporate money entering into the electoral process, will the voice of our redemption simply drown in the cacophony that is our modern media? Will those educated under our modern systems recognize it on the slim chance that it is heard?
