Today’s Topic: Education and Those Who Stand in Its Way
Credit to Abujade
Nathan: Yo.
Holden: You’re alive? We’re alive?
Nathan: Apparently.
Holden: I feel like Jesus.
Nathan: Except this blog was dead for a tad longer than three days. But I have a topic I think really needs to be talked about.
Holden: Hit me.
Holden: I always forget sex slavery.
Nathan: ...Right. Anyway, this situation made me angrier than I’ve felt in a long time. And you know that a lot of things about the world piss me off.
Holden: Most. You almost severed my head for flicking a crutch off your deck.
Nathan: Hey man, I had an ashtray in the other room...
Holden: Ashtrays save the world.
Nathan: They do more than the UN.
Holden:Shots fired. Let the rant commence.
Nathan: But seriously. I can’t think of a situation better suited for UN intervention than this one. It perfectly meets the criteria set forth by the ICISS’s Responsibility to Protect Project — written in response to a UN request — where it states:
“Where a population is suffering serious harm, as a result of internal war, insurgency, repression or state failure, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect.”
This is repression through insurgency. The Boko
Haram problem is a threat not just to Nigeria and Western Africa, but to people
aspiring for education throughout the world. We’re setting a precedent that the
international community will not act in the face of such heinous crimes against
education, progress, and humanity.
Holden: Why focus so intently on Boko Haram as opposed to the gluttony of other fucked up shit in this world?
Nathan: Partially because this is a conflict the international community could end swiftly with sufficient force, but mainly because of the message they send to others who aspire to learn and improve the world through their ingenuity. These kidnapped Nigerian girls exhibited extreme bravery getting an education in such a hostile environment, and then, right as they are about to go to university, they are kidnapped, to be sex slaves for these monsters. Not to mention the 10s of thousands of innocent people Boko Haram have slaughtered in Nigeria. Makes my blood boil.
Holden: You’re getting at the idea that education is the all-encompassing medicine of the world.
Nathan: Exactly. Every problem, from racism, to economic parity, to terrorism, to ensuring future generations have a livable planet...
Holden: To baby seals and world peace and immorality and worldwide nirvana!
Nathan: You know what I’m saying. Most of the problems in this world are rooted in ignorance or miseducation.
Holden: Sure. But how do we apply this magical remedy? Do we rub it on the affected area one to two times a day? Does it come in pill form?
Nathan: We could start by pledging to protect those who pursue education throughout the world. And paying teachers what they’re worth wouldn’t hurt either.
Holden: Decent salaried teachers aren’t going to bring back the kidnapped girls. Do we have to improve our own domestic education systems before improving others’? Is it our responsibility to improve global education?
Nathan: Why do they have to be mutually exclusive? And sometimes, just providing a safe space to share ideas and learn is enough.
Holden: Is that what education is — a safe space to share ideas?
Nathan: It’s a launching pad. Progress will come in time. And in Boko Haram we have an opportunity to show that the international community will not tolerate these kind of actions so people around the world don’t have to be frightened of broadening their mind. They don’t have to become masters of physics,* but they should have the option to, without being worried about being sold into sex slavery because some extremists misinterpreted a book.
Holden: Of course. On this we certainly don’t disagree. But step back a bit. What exactly is the magical ointment of education made out of? What defines this abstract term “education?”
Nathan: Well, a start is teaching science that is verified by empirical evidence. Simply gaining an understanding of the natural world we live in can change a person’s outlook
and actions dramatically.
Holden: How does such an education system get imposed? And is our education necessarily, objectively superior to other forms?
Nathan: It’s not about imposition or objective superiorty. It’s about ensuring those who are making an attempt — however that may be, there is no one right way to teach — can do so without fearing for their and their families’ lives.
Holden: That’s a beautiful point.
Nathan: If only it were a reality.
Holden: Oy.
This post dedicated to our loving mothers, Jeri Taylor and Dalia Taft. We wouldn’t be here without you.
*Which is what the exam the Nigerian girls were taking was on.
.jpg)
