TO THE EDITOR:
Now that the national elections have been decided, hopefully for the better, it is imperative the citizens turn their energy and attention to matters that have and still do touch and affect their daily lives. These are issues that we face now and will face in the future along with our children and grandchildren. Some of these decisions are cast in stone and will have to be dealt with for decades and centuries ahead; e.g.
1. The landfill at New Boston.
2. The Hwy 82 Project.
3. The transfer of former government property to TexAmericas and the immediate rape and plunder of timber resources.
4. The multi-million dollar school bond issues wasted on football fields and other non-essential wish lists.
5. The recent beer/wine approvals to market.
May the powers that be enjoy the "30 pieces of silver" received for their blessings of each named projects.
Despite all the personal opinions described above, there are still situations that can be remedied by personal involvement at every level by the citizenry of affected entities. It will be required that ever person take a vocal and active stand to reverse may of the actions that are taking our country the wrong and expensive direction. A personal hint-when you prepare to take a stand, prepare to stand alone.
The most glaring and damaging system which needs immediate attention is the so-called public education system at every level; from pre-k to the masters degree in the colleges.
Without any private inside information on the workings of this system, it can only be judged by the visible results and actions of parents in the placement of their children.
Fact: The high schools are graduating students who cannot legibly write their name or quote any history of our nation; whether this is an essential element of education is open to debate.
Fact: The colleges are granting degrees with no marketable value; saddled with huge loans. It seems the post-graduate degrees have been watered down and weakened and are passed out with the meal cards. One of the biggest scams visited on the students is the price of books that are demanded by the tenured professors, hanging out in the faculty lounge drinking their latte and bottled water.
The remedy for the education fiasco is for people to get involved in the process, do away with tenure immediately, develop a usable, marketable degree plan and shift the focus from an income model to an educational focus. This will be received as unwanted and unwelcomed advice from an unwashed and uneducated population.
Chester Pinkham
New Boston, Texas
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