Fractured America
This picture is shared again because it depicts our fractured country. There are many ways we are divided, but the one at the
top of my list is education.
Acrylic on wide canvas/ 24″ by 24″/$ 450
Education in a Divided America
Last week, I had a conversation with an African-American man about problems facing the nation. As is commonly done, he stratified the population by economic divisions (lower, middle and upper class) and made suggestions accordingly.
There are many ways to look at our citizenry. I explored one method when writing about generational differences brought about by technological and economic change. Generational stratifications include 1901-1926), Mature/Silents; (1926-1945) Baby Boomers, Flower Children ; (1946-64) Generation X, Lost Generation; ( 1965-80); Xennials, Sandwich Generation; ( 1977- 1983) Millennials, Narcissistic Tech Gurus; (1984-2000) Generation Z, The Boomlets (2001 +) .This method does partial insight.
Divisions by race, religion, residence and culture also help us understand society. Each system presents a microcosm of the whole. Yet, all factors (which is difficult to do) must be taken into account when analyzing an individual. It is why I like Anatole Frances’ saying, ”Even a little dog is the center of his own universe.”
However, it is not possible to rule a country that appeals to each person’s unique vision, so societies adopt systems for governing by way of democratic, autocratic, theocratic and consensus models. Economies are primarily traditional (close ties to farming), command (centralized power), market ( firms and households act in self-interest) and mixed systems (cross between command and market economy. The United States governs in a pluralist country with democratic intentions and a mixed economic system that leans toward a market economy.
But to rule well , another stratification has to be taken into account – that of education. An enlightened populace is imperative when governing a democratic country with a mixed economic system.
Unfortunately, most people are not well enough educated to understand the the ramifications of learning which is making a mockery of our country among other civilized nations. Academic achievement divides the United States in unsettling ways. People with stratified educational backgrounds are targeted through information delivery systems (CNN vs Fox), ways of communicating (authoritarian vs consensus) and methods of settling differences (arms vs. non-violence).
The Brooking Institute says that the United States is ruled by a power elite composed of approximately 250 people with military, business and congressional backgrounds. For the past forty years, they have followed directives of Think Tanks, which have become To Do tanks with political agendas. Though independent research organizations continue to operate, the new breed of Advocacy Think Yanks puts a spin on pure research. They are policy, partisan and ideological organizations that couple themselves with salesmanship. Their influence is massive, yet they remain hidden behind the doors of most minds.
A quote from a Brookings publication,The Fifth Estate ,“According to some scholars, right- wing think tanks have benefited strongly from a proactive approach to collectivizing and organizing their search for funding. Conversely, left – wing think tanks have suffered because, historically, progressive individuals and foundations have been more reluctant to provide financial support for policy research. Further, conservative donations have been more integrated than progressive donations, simultaneously supporting conservative think tanks, academic programs that sponsor conservative thinkers, conservative-friendly media, powerful lobbies, and a strong Republican Party. These various elements work together successfully to implement conservative policy.”
People are commonly divided by academic achievement. We speak of the uneducated, poorly educated, well educated, and those with advanced learning. In addition the being able to read and write, a schooled individual hopefully gains a grasp of social, spiritual, sanitary and behavioral customs. In addition, he or she will acquire workplace skills. Think tanks are staffed by those with advanced degrees. Partisan organizations influence their research in order to target and manipulate people by how well educated they are.
In the United States, 32 million illiterate people (over 720 million worldwide) remain at the bottom of the economic and social ladder with limited employment opportunity. Illiteracy costs the global economy about $ 1.19 trillion a year and plays havoc in democratic societies. The poorly educated are easily controlled by dictators and fear mongers.
In 2016, Donald Trump told supporters in Nevada that he credited his poorly educated supporters as part of the reason he won. Spoken by a man with a college degree and a 158 IQ (according to Reuters), he said, ”I love the poorly educated.”
Why would that be? The President describes the highly educated as the smartest people and the poorly schooled as the most loyal. According to Trumpism, the poorly educated are willing followers and not snooty. By telling less informed people that they are valued, he let them know that their votes count. All they had to do is believe in his wisdom. What Trump did so brilliantly, was develop a way to reach less informed people through plainspoken, short Twitter feeds. He calls on their trust rather than their understanding. Those who follow his dictates have no need to fact-check, analyze data or delve into complex issues. His is a faith based rule.
In the last election, education, not income was the best predictor of who would win. Of the 981 U.S. counties with 50,000 or more people, Hillary Clinton ’s margin surged over Obama’s wins in the 50 most-educated counties. These counties were otherwise economically and socially diverse. Trump won in the 50 least-educated counties. Though there was a small correlation between income and education, in general, the amount of money a person has was not the determining factor. Education was. To check these statistics go to Silver’s article mentioned in the reference section.
In 2015, 88 percent of the U.S. population had attained a high school diploma or GED. 33 percent held a bachelor’s degree, and 12 percent an advanced degree. Within these categories are variations by race, age, sex, disability and country of origin. But overall, what does it mean?
The political cleavage caused by education is so significant that unless concerned politicians find ways to speak to less informed voters and bring more of them into the educated category, they will not win in large swarths of the country. Without realizing that they have been taken advantage of, under-educated people will continue to lose their rights to the power elite. They blindly vote against their best interests by remaining ignorant of the interplay of economic and environmental factors in global affairs.
No longer is the United States a lone player separated by oceans. We are tied to the rest of the world by high speed internet and the ease of travel. Decisions depend on a deep understanding of issues. Democracy and a mixed economic economy depend on enlightened, informed voters.
There have always been greedy people with personal agendas. This is why we have to pay attention to knowledge brokers. Politicians need non-biased information to rule. Concerns of social and physical scientists with advanced learning should be intelligently examined and questioned. Motivation must be taken into consideration. We can not trust the media or politicians to do our job for us. I am uncomfortable with ignorant people going to to poles to decide my fate. Aren’t you?
References:
Novak,J. (2018) The Six Living Generations in America. University of Phoenix, Texas A & M University. retrieved from http://www.marketingteacher.com/the-six-living-generations-in-america/
Reynolds,H.(2097)The Power Elite. University of Delaware. American Political Systems.https://www1.udel.edu/htr/Psc105/Texts/power.html
Ranney, M. (2015) 8 startling facts about illiteracy you might not know. Mashable.retrieved information from World Literacy foundation, 2015 at https://mashable.com/2015/09/08/project-literacy-makeathon/#CkPTiAfEcaqA
Hafner,J. (2016) Donald Trump loves the ‘poorly educated’ — and they love him. USA Today. retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/02/24/donald-trump-nevada-poorly-educated/80860078/
Silver,N. (2016) Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump. FiveThirtyEight.retrieved from https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/
Galston,W & Hendrickson,C. (2016)The Educational rift in the 2016 election. Brookings institute. retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2016/11/18/educational-rift-in-2016-election/
Wiarada,H. Think Tanks and Governance in the United States. Brookings Institute. retrieved by https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/chapter-one_-the-fifth-estate.pdf
Agarwal,P, (2017) The Four Types of Economics. Intelligent Economics, retrieve from https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/types-of-economies/
Art works are always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com.
