On the Future of Our Country:

I am truly worried about the future of our country.

The reason is rather simple: I have no faith in my generation's ability to run a government, sustain a viable economy, and raise another generation of human beings do the same. This realization did not sneak up on me suddenly and reveal itself to me in a great moment of enlightenment. Rather, it has been a slow collection of observations about the character and ability of my peers. I will, however, admit that there was one moment a few months ago that jump-started my cause to pray for the future of America.

I was in a discussion section for a class I was taking called 'Geological Perspectives,' which came highly recommended to me as a class that was sure to fetch me an A. "Well sweet," I thought, "this should be simple." I didn't know how simple. The class of about 25 students was working on an assignment dealing with time calculations related to fossils. The rest of the group I was working with was rather confused about the exact calculations that needed to be made, so I was explained it to them. When they were done, they thought it would be best to ask our preceptor, "Just to be sure." That is when the fun began.

What exactly we were calculating has escaped me, but I do remember that with a quick bit of mental math, I had determined the answer was 1 million divided by four.

"No," said the preceptor. I was confused. "It's 1 billion divided by four thousand."

I was flabbergasted. "Yes," I replied, "isn't that the same thing?"

"Oh," she said with a look of surprise. "I guess." Then one of the other members of my group added his appreciation for my calculating skills.

"Wow," he said. "Good thing we've got Mr. Math Major over here."

Really? I mean, really? Now trust me, I've heard the complaints about the complexity of fractions and such, but this was just stupidity. To have both students and the people who are supposed to be teaching them be unable to grasp such a simple concept is mind boggling to me still today.

Of course, I realize that this fear I have is nothing new. I'm willing to bet that Adam and Eve feared the end of humanity when their children reached adolescence. Despite this, I still find discomfort in wondering what the future holds for the good ol' U.S. of A. We are allowing stupidity to flourish on a wide range of levels, dooming future generations to suffer the consequences (that is, if they'll even be able to realize how poorly off they are).

So what should we do about it? The future is not entirely bleak, with a recent world study finding that test scores in the U.S. are increasing (http://nces.ed.gov/timss/results07.asp). But this could be counteracted by budget cuts currently being made for all levels of education, all over the country due to the economic recession. For example, the state of Arizona just approved budget cuts of $142 million from their university system alone. If we don't want stupid kids, we should avoid stupid decisions like cutting funding to major universities.

More importantly, let's quit letting kids off easy. If little Johnny brings home poor grades, remind him that he will end up in the poorhouse. Get your kids to enjoy reading and show them that being intelligent will not only make their schooling and jobs more enjoyable, it will make their lives more enjoyable as well.

The problem that we see today is that fewer children are shown the joys of learning because there are fewer people to who understand how, meaning that before long, there will be no one else to show kids the way. And when our country reaches this point, it will no longer be our status as a global power that will be in danger, it will be our society as a whole.