President Obama’s address [1] to the two houses of Congress was a fairly predictable survey of the current economic crisis, foreign policy, and a host of other issues. Delivered with his usual eloquence, even garnering a few laughs from both sides of the aisle, a few things jumped out at me during the speech.
The first was his statement that “The answers to our [economic] problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.” The fact that laboratories and universities got first mention there – not things typically associated with the favorite child of “blue collar America” – really caught me off-guard. I am used to the powerful pandering to the patently blue collar sectors of our economy; pandering instead to our engines of innovation, themselves a vast partnership between blue collar and white collar America, was a pleasant surprise.
The recognition that long-term economic answers will come not from (just) propping up failing industries, but from investment in the engines of new economic sectors, is something the President constantly highlights. In such a spotlight moment as tonight’s speech, he could easily have set aside the long view to instead focus on the short-term benefit of staving off the collapse of the old auto industry.
He also again highlighted the basic research portion of the stimulus bill, saying “We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history – an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology.” I can’t speak to the “largest” part, but it was again reassuring to see the President go out of the mainstream and highlight basic research.
The last thing that hit me was the President’s rather specific view of the relationship between education and citizenship, a relationship I had not seen highlighted recently except in references to the founding fathers’ views of an educated citizenry. He says, ” . . . it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in [the education system]. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American.”
Not just quitting on yourself . . . quitting on your country. That’s a very stark view of the failure to conclude an education. We’ve not had a President since I’ve been paying attention who put it so directly. To all of those out there who think that college is a waste of time, and that you can get more from instead entering the work force or entering the military – take note. Education is back on the list of things that matter to a nation.
Amen.
