Shut-Up Stupid Sunday: Anti-Education Movement

Romney was Governor of Massachusetts during the tech boom. Massachusetts had a huge built in advantage during the boom. The little state has over 100 colleges and universities. Harvard, Cambridge, MIT and a few others are known throughout the world.

With an education base like that it would be natural for tech companies to open up in Massachusetts. So Romney cut funding to education by 60%, more than an other state in the union. Massachusetts came in 47th in job growth during the tech boom.

Romney might be a flip-flopper on most issues, but he has been as constant as the northern star on denying the middle class an opportunity to improve themselves.

For the last 30 years the GOP has been nibbling away at the education system in the United States, and the Democrats have let them. The Republicans argue that because the Department of Education budget has grown from over $100 billion in 2006 to its current $68 billion with no improvement in education, it should be cut. Notice how the people who are against education don't know 100 is bigger than 68.

The assault on education reflects the views of Don McLeroy, former Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education who has said, “Someone has to stand up to the Experts!” with all their facts and figures and data and stuff. Why should we teach kids about the world when it is so much easier to believe in whatever reality we care to make.

It's time to change direction and put education as a top priority in this country. Back when education was considered important, and thanks to the GI bill, millions of young people got free educations. We went to the Moon. Now our nation is struggling to make cars that can get people to work without spending their paycheck on gas.

The cost of ignorance is high. The most successful civilization in history was the Roman Empire. At its height the Romans were called a civilization of engineers. They identified problems, transportation, clean water systems, ect and built solutions. They declined as they turned their backs on education. So when the barbarians came as they had for thousands of years, instead of turning to engineers to find ways to get the vast military to fight them, they turned to prayer and prayed God would destroy their enemies. Christianity swept over Europe in what is known as the Dark Age.

So to everyone out there who is against education, I say, “Shut-up Stupid, If you think the cost of education is too high, look at the cost of ignorance. The most successful civilizations in history have one thing in common, they have educated people to identify problems and find solutions. The world's industrial base isn't moving to China and India because of cheap unskilled labor, its moving their because of the huge amounts of skilled labor available. A highly educated workforce is the key to a productive civilization. Cutting education is the quickest way back to the Dark Age.”

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE