Education on a Government Level, 1969

 Education is with us everyday.  There are some people, who do not know what goes on in their country.  They do not know about our defense systems, the draft, or our form of government.  If a boy does not know about the draft, how will he know to register with his draft board, and if he doesn't register with his draft board, he will be thrown in jail because of ignorance.  There has been much talk about a silent majority.  I contend with my plan, that the silent majority will be a vocal majority.  Our politicians would represent a group of educated people, and not people that sit back and do nothing.  By educating people about defense systems, the education may save their lives someday.  By educating people about voting, the people will be able to vote and take part in politics.  To illustrate my points, I'll give you two examples.  There is a boy I know, who is 16 years old, and he does not know what the draft system is.  He was asked what he thought of the new lottery system, and he said that he had not heard about it.  In conversation I found out, that he had not heard of the draft or anything to do with it.  Would he be put in jail, because he did not know?  There is a girl I know, that when she was asked about the ABM system and what did it do, she said that she had not heard of it.  Academically, this girl is smart, but when it comes to knowledge about her government, she is a member of the silent majority.  What about the man in Harlem, the farmer in Kansas, or the migrant farm worker in Hawaii?  You've got to reach these people through compulsory education about our government and its systems.  There is one objection to this, and that is cost.  What is the cost for a person to be educated?  This program would be for every American citizen, man, woman, and child, and it will be taught on their mental level.  Why does the silent majority have to be silent?  With my plan they do not have to be.