“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge” Issac Asimov

Knowledge is important, because it encompasses the arts, our human history, science, our accurate understanding of, and comprehension of, our land, our nation, our planet, our universe and how things interconnect and are interdependent.

Some people seem to think that we no longer need knowledge, because machines will do our thinking for us, and still others seem to feel that “belief” is more important than accurate knowledge. But machines are only as good as what we build them to do. And in understanding how machines work, we can also understand how to change machines, make new machines, build machines that suit the different needs different populations might have.

While beliefs can comfort or inspire, it is also true that beliefs can lead to dogmatism and oppression, to fanaticism and the rejection of knowledge if it conflicts with beliefs, because ultimately, belief is limited by the fears, ignorance, limitations, and desires or needs of the individual shaping or interpreting or espousing a set of beliefs.

We are at a point in time in which we must teach critical reasoning, logic, the Socratic methodology of examining ideas; we must help each person to either enhance the empathy they already feel or teach them how to respond with kindness instead of sarcasm, mockery, bullying or cruelty. There will always be forces trying to return us to the caves and tribalism, but we can counter that with seeking a higher learn and uification in our diversity.

And yes, we can also teach values, but we better ensure the values we are teaching will give us compassion, judgment and discernment, kindness, and so on- because SOME values are destructive… it’s a complex thing, human needs and nature…

I still maintain that the knowledge of the past and learning old ways of understanding has value, because the knowledge of those who came before us is often based on what they had to know, not just what they wanted to know. So yes- we still need to teach children how to think, teach them old maths, reading comprehension, geography, history, biology, botany, we need to teach them about plumbing, farming, electricity, construction, hygiene; we need to help them develop hobbies outside of their video games, Blackberries, Google, Instagram, and other electronic distractions from real life-  a people too dependent on what is, is not prepared for what may be… because the future is not guaranteed. Creating a people capable of living in the machine/technology/AI world and also capable of living in a self-sufficiency mode strikes me as a deeper wisdom…

I’ve met children who have every technology available to them, but don’t know what a lamb or duck is- and are afraid of them.
I’ve met children and adults who don’t know how to use a hammer and nails.
I’ve met children who have great wealth but know nothing about the world, or how to live in it without that wealth and easy privilege.
I’ve met children in all  classes who pursue money and “nice things”, but have no awareness that pursuing the respect and trust of others is more important than “nice things”, and will stand them in better stead.
I’ve met wealthy children who hardly ever read a book, working class and the working poor children who are being left behind and middle class children who simply don’t think books are of any worth.
I’ve met children and adults who can’t identify words, can’t identify important historical figures or why they are important, can’t identify nations or oceans on a globe, don’t know how their own government systems work, dont know how scientific methodology works, don’t know how to cook for themselves, don’t know how to repair their clothing, and can’t identify plants in their own yard.
I have met too many children and adults who “know the price of everything and the value of nothing”.
We have a multi-generational rush to ignorance, and ignorance makes people easy to frighten and easier to manipulate and compel.

Yet…
I’ve met children who don’t have computers, but can create their own electricity by using what they find around them.
Children so poor they go to bed hungry at night, but can build bridges to cross streams.
Children who cross dangerous barriers to obtain, or willingly face punishment to read, a book.
Children who survive on a daily basis using the knowledge of living they have obtained, all while trying to maintain a set of values that uplift rather than tear down.

I’ve listened to theocrats, anarchists, fascists, communists, tyrants, presidents, despots, preachers, radio pundits, TV evangelicals and talking heads all discuss how the “system” needs to be replaced, revised, revamped, or removed so we can start over- they chatter on abut how public education needs to be replaced with religion over secular thinking (freethinking), that too much knowledge is a dangerous thing- but tearing down and trying to start over could result in far worse scenarios, considering how little so many of those who would be kings know, how manipulative and cunning they are, how hungry for power,  how few ethics they have, how little integrity…… what education and training we have now could do with some reform, refining and re-tuning, but what we have now has frequently kept some of the monsters among us in check.