In a free world, we are all free to be just the kind of idiots (I mean "perfect people", of course) we like to be.
Not your definition of perfection or hers. To each of us, just our individual, personal and intensely "right" perspective of perfection. I mean we each are free to be the perfect idiots of our choice. Free to even scorn the other perfect-but-different idiots.
Provided, we are independent enough to be really free.
As in, for example, my NGO (no, I don't really have an NGO) needs funds from this particular source, but "hey, we haven't sold our souls, you know... we are being pragmatic, looking at the larger picture, being apolitical, neutral.. " and so forth.
Now that (if) we are independent, what could we do with our freedom?
I know! We could eat up as much as we can at the buffet table, and for good measure throw away the rest (tragedy of the commons). But hey, we are free, right?
However, if we were educated (not to be confused with being literate), we would have a bit of enlightened self-interest. Not just self-interest, but enlightened (worth the emphasis) self-interest.
On that happy note, I propose that we rename all our "Education Departments" as "Literacy Departments".
I mean, who are we fooling? Though I know a few enlightened people trying to guide syllabi towards education, we are indeed chasing metrics and reaping the... benefits. The metrics are biased towards literacy. Period.
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