What if education funding were like prison funding? What would happen if schools were treated like prisons?

Well, they'd be treated a lot better, fiscally anyhow.

"Consider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a day. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to a library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof over their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide to our school children.

This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student."

Why does America seem to be on the wrong side of international freedom?

A country in the throes of revolution. An oppressive state known for jailing dissidents is going to fall soon. However, America happens to find itself in the awkward position of being a patron of this dictatorial regime. America soon defines an ambiguous position---the rebels might be a terrorist organization after all, so it is best to tread carefully.

You can apply this scenario to so many countries it isn't even funny. In this case, I think the sobering story of South Africa is a vivid illustration of hypocrisy in action.

Congress only declared that the ANC and Nelson Mandela were not terrorists in 2008.

http://www.johnkerry.com/news/entry/...n_mandela_anc/

America also tacitly supported the apartheid regime and gave military support to South Africa in the South African Border War---though this should also be framed in the context of a Soviet-American proxy battle, it also once again shows how millions of people must suffer in the pursuit of some military goal that does not make sense (let's make a war on words and ideas!).

Once again, with Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, we are forced to wonder whether or not America is on the right side. I think this is particularly important, since America is the one world power that tries to claim its' legitimacy by offering itself as a luminary of human rights---which it should be said, it does follow up on sometimes.

However, certain policies it pursues seems to undermine these long-term strategic goals. How on Earth can we be so short-sided to see that depriving people of their freedom might stop a terrorist attack or two, but will generate enough anger to create an infinitely larger amount of terrorists? I also question America's ability to delineate between freedom fighter and terrorist, which seems to be firmly based on whether or not you are trying to achieve strategic American military goals, whatever they may be.

It should be pointed out that while South Africa has its' problems, you cannot argue that it is more unstable than the carcasses left behind by American military intervention (North Korea situation, Khmer Rouge, the current Iraq/Afghanistan situation). I am all for Realpolitik---but is it not realistic to say that change does not happen overnight, cannot be forced by killing and looting a country, that we must truly support the long-term aspirations of people around the world over our short-term security needs, and that America's stated willingness to help people around the world be free is what truly makes it great?

Kill em all---how war can make the most horrible of crimes forgettable.

In 1949, in special consideration of how war is a time where the fundamental human rights of civilians and combatants is especially vulnerable, most nations of the world signed and ratified the Geneva Conventions. However, the conflicts that have played out after this signing indicate that many nations still do not heed this edict.

One example of this comes from declassified American military documents that record that "US commanders repeatedly, and without ambiguity, ordered forces under their control to target and kill Korean refugees caught on the battlefield."

It comes on the heels of other declassified documents that implied American knowledge, and complicity with South Korean massacres of suspected leftists-including women and children. The death toll has been rumored to be up to 100,000, although it is likely we will never know the whole truth due to the political sensitivity of these killings.

If America, self-avowed leader in the rights and dignity of mankind, can simply look on as her allies slaughtered thousands of their own citizens, and actively participated in this slaughter---well, it certainly dispels the notion that evil and good are black and white, Soviet and American, freedom fighter and terrorist-----doesn't it?

It's a scary thought, since I really think America is one of the better nations in this regard. I am sure that other regimes have committed much worse (Stalin and Mao's crimes against their own people come to mind). In fact, the only reason why I would bother posting American war crimes is because the American people have the freedom to acknowledge and rectify these grievous errors, a privilege that is denied to most of the world.

It's a sad thought to think that even a country like America is prone to these bouts of savagery.

This idea also gets to the notion of the "true cost of war". I have always found that governments seem to make a game of tricking their own citizens by classifying sensitive documents that describe the whole picture of what's truly going on in their name (and of course, financed by their money). We only know about the Korean war atrocities because fifty years later, the American government has decided her people have more or less forgotten about Korea (which they were quite right on). It makes me wonder what they're trying to hide in the top secret documents they have out there now. We already know that some American soldiers murder Afghan civilians for sport. Perhaps if we knew the true cost of wars, we'd understand why there seem to be so many suicide bombers (can we really blame lunacy and the fact they hate our freedoms for this long?). Perhaps if we knew the true cost of war, we'd understand the terrible implications of it, and grasp that it truly is a tool of last resort. Perhaps if we knew the true cost of war, there would be less war.

but here I am, dreaming again
and hoping someday you'll join me too