We are obligated to educate others. Let's start in the US.
Some one recently forwarded this article to me:
Bilingual Census Takers Are Needed
from www.nebraskastatepaper.com
February 09, 2009
Workers are being hired to conduct the U.S. Census. And in Grand Island, bilingual census takers, including those who speak Spanish, any of the Sudanese languages or dialects spoken by Somalis, are sought after.
The Grand Island Independent reported that in areas where bilingual census takers are needed people who are not citizens may be hired.
This is serious irony. Because we in the US have not sufficiently valued the learning of foreign languages (i.e. historically not prioritized teaching foreign languages in our schools), the US government may have no choice but to hire non-citizens when the time comes to do the government's work, even just to count heads.
Here in Nebraska, for example, many people complain bitterly of high property taxes and habitually vote AGAINST local school bond issues. They also complain bitterly about those terrible foreigners taking all our jobs. Will they see a connection in this case? Shouldn't we help them do so?
Time tested formulas:
Education = skills = work opportunities = economic well-being
Education = cultural understanding = less war
Economic well-being + less war = better world
Last night F.W. deKlerk spoke in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is the man who ended Apartheid in South Africa and freed Nelson Mandela. He said the causes of war included poverty, ignorance and fanaticism. That means education is a powerful tool to reduce war and terrorism.
Here's how one person implemented these formulas: http://www.gregmortenson.com/...
(This book makes a great gift for that hard-to-buy for person. It also would make an excellent classroom assignment or book club selection.)
Thomas E. Ricks, who wrote a book about the Surge called The Gamble is now making the rounds on all the talk shows. He points out that the Surge was successful because it was characterized by a different strategy: talk to people rather than shoot them. Imagine!
Ricks said killing insurgents led to retribution and escalation, but when they talked to insurgents and found out that most were being paid to plant IEDs etc. Petraeus decided to pay them to stop, and they did. When they gave them the economic security they needed, it opened the door to better mutual understanding. It's the old "catch more flies with honey than vinegar" approach.
So when conservatives brag about how well the Surge worked, tell them it worked because we TALKED TO OUR ENEMIES. And yeah, this successful strategy, the one they are bragging about, is exactly what they criticize Obama for wanting to do.
Now Ahmadinejad says he's ready to talk to the US. The 46% of Americans who voted for McCain are still out there among us. They should be enraged at the idea. Remind them that it worked in Iraq.
Perhaps a letter to the editor is in order. Remember, any newspaper will publish your letter, even if you don't live in their traditional subscription region. This means people in enlightened areas should be reaching out to the rest of the US, helping to educate them.
Studies show that a letter to the editor has SIX TIMES the influence a news article does. So explain to people that education funding (in the US and abroad) is the key to national security, both economic and physical. Tell them that talking to our enemies works; just look at the Surge!
My friend Ross says that if you ever overhear some one making an asinine political remark you are obligated to call them on it. He points out that this is how the n-word fell out of common usage. You can't stop people from thinking it, but you CAN stop them from saying it out loud, and that makes a huge difference in people's perception of what is considered acceptable and rational thought.
A good way to do this is to say "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard" because it gets everybody's attention and it makes the person never want to say it in public again. If they don't accept your arguments (like those above) about why their comments are hypocritical, then at least you've stopped them in their tracks (and potentially influenced some listeners). As Ross puts it, "Sometimes the best strategy for some people is just to shut them up until they die, so they don't spread their disease."
But just to be optimistic, try reasonable dialogue first. Now go write that letter.