American Priorities

American society has certain things that are "the norm" when it comes to priorities. In this post I'm going to take those "norms" and call BS on them. I believe that society should be built upon the foundations of education and security. Knowledge is one of the only things in this world that is never-ending. You could have all of the money, possessions, and power in the world and they will still always be material things. Knowledge is the one thing that you can always strive for more of. The more you learn, the more questions and possibilities open up leading you to obtain even more knowledge. As far as security, I mean feeling safe in my own home. It is a city's (state, town, whatever) job to ensure the security and safety of the people that live there. Focusing on the pursuit of knowledge instead of the pursuit of power is what will make a difference in our society.

The thing that bothers me about the town I live in (Manhattan, Kansas) is the fact that we are willing to pay millions of dollars to our college football coach (notice I said college, not even professional) instead of investing our money in things that actually matter. Before I wrote this blog I did a little research on Bill Snyder. He's actually a pretty stand-up guy. I read an article about how he disagreed with the direction that sports are going today. How it's not so much about the sports or the players as much as it is about the money and the media. I agreed with everything he said, but he didn't exactly put his foot down and try to do anything about it. Maybe he's gotten too comfortable with his 2.8 million dollar salary. The thing about the building of the stadium is that it was pretty much purely donations from all of these wealthy people who reside in Manhattan and are advocates of K-State football. This is totally fine, I'm glad people are donating their money to provide better facilities for K-State, but in all reality football does not make the world go 'round. Why can't people be donating millions of dollars to elementary schools to ensure that the children of today's generation are getting a proper education?

I was reading the local newspaper this morning and they wrote a story comparing the salaries of the area's best-compensated workers. Bill Snyder is at the top of the list with around 2.8 million dollars a year. Some more city employees included the superintendent of USD 383, who makes around 300K a year. Also on the list were the salaries for the Chief of the Fire Department and the Director of the Riley County Police Department, whose salaries both were under $150,000 a year. Manhattan is more focused on idolizing a college football coach than they are on the security and education of their citizens. Why is it that the average teacher's salary is less than $50,000 a year. The people who have gone to school to provide education to society's children are getting paid about 56 times less than the head coach of a college football team.

Another thing that I absolutely cannot believe is that Kansas has the nerve to cut funding for education. Education is the absolute foundation of society. Without education and the pursuit of knowledge, we would all still be in the Stone Ages. Elementary and High Schools are struggling to pay teacher's salaries and provide kids with the proper materials to ensure that they get a good education. Brownback is taking 44.5 million dollars from education funding to "help patch a budget hole blamed on deep income tax reductions". It's not our fault that our government keeps digging themselves a hole of debt. Why on earth would you try to fix it by taking money out of the single most important factor of society. Without elementary and secondary education, there would be no need for college. People like Bill Snyder wouldn't even have a job because there would be no one to play on his team.

Also, since these budget cuts are happening, this means that college tuition is going to sky-rocket. Most people can hardly afford to go to college in the first place? Why on earth is the solution to our debt problem to force students to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to "help get out of this debt" just to force debt on these students? Pretty soon we're just going to be right back where we were hundreds of years ago when only the rich could go to college. We get told time and time again that it is absolutely essential that we go to college so we can be successful  in our careers. When we go to pre-school we are taught things that will help us in elementary school. In elementary school, we are taught things that are relevant in middle school. In middle school we are prepared for high school, and then in high school we are told that we have to do well in order to make it to college and go on to get a solid career. At this point in time you can get the highest grades and work harder than anyone else, but if you can't pay for college you either are the lucky few to get scholarships or you are forced to take out money and then pay back student loans for the rest of your life.

This country has become so consumed in money that it has clouded our vision of the American Dream. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but it's honestly true. Fifty years ago, the vision of every American was to get an education, land a successful career, and then be able to provide for their family. The American Dream is about ownership and success. The dream is to own a car, a house, and still be able to provide comfort and material possessions for your family. Now, people don't really believe in that anymore. Why buy a car when you can take public transportation? Why buy a house when you could just rent?

These things are all happening and there are little efforts for them to be changed. Since when has it become the norm to accept the fact that our children may not be able to go to school? Why is it a priority in America to idolize something so material as college football. When did it become okay to set restrictions on knowledge instead of encouraging people to strive for prosperity? My parents always told me to do my best in life and strive for success. Success for me is to have a career that I  love, being able to buy a house of my own, and to raise a family in a comfortable environment. My vision of success has been fueled by my education. I want my children to have the same education and vision of success that I did. Society has clouded views on what its "norms" are. Do not take away our dreams and replace them with mediocre thoughts of "I can't go into this career because I am not rich enough, smart enough (insert "____ enough") or "I can't get an education because I don't have the means to pay for it". If you take away our education, you're taking away the foundations of society. If you prioritize pointless pass-times over the success of this generation, you will find yourself regretting it in the future. All I'm saying is put your money, time, and focus into what counts and that will undeniably help our country prosper.