The need for a different type of education in this country is painfully obvious, but the problem goes much deeper than that. From the standpoint of the poor and those who live on the edge in the fourth richest country in the world, the dream of capitalistic gain is a continuous nightmare from which they will never wake. This desperate existence will eventually morph into the form of an old friend when they turn to drugs and alcohol to kill their pain. Stripped away are any possibilities of change within them on a deep level. Education not being part of the equation, classic stories and essays that hold valuable lessons are not available nor important to them; they are held prisoners in a world that is dark, stripped of any real possibilities. This is destructive to society as a whole; for every drug addicted teenager walking the streets, there is a business owner being robbed.
The real question is not how to take care of these people, feed and educate them; instead ask how to give them hope and desire for a different type of life that includes education. Society has been conditioned to believe that hope, happiness and desire for something more will all be satisfied by materiel gain. It can not be denied that one must work to take care of themselves and their families, but there is danger in making this the primary focus of ones life. Continually filling a perceived need depletes resources and becomes an obsessive desire that will remain forever unfulfilled. The old saying goes, "Money is the root of all evil" , or more accurately "The love of money is the root of all evil", (1st Timothy 6:10) The truth lies forever in these words; one does not have to be a Christian to understand this sentiment. This simply stated truth holds within it the essence of change. If the love of money truly is the root of all evil, then perhaps continual pursuit of it leads to the degradation of a society.
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