The Conflicted

In the debate over government-run education, I continually shake my head over the irrational behavior of some people. Government employees of the system and their spouses who call for more and more spending are acting in a rational manner in behalf of their self-interest. Those who espouse the ideas which are prevalent on this site are acting in a consistent manner when they call for true parent control and choice in education. Even though these two sides are one hundred and eighty degrees apart in their views; they nevertheless are both acting in a rational and consistent manner. It is the people in the middle which we might say are conflicted. It is with the conflicted middle where people whose lives follow certain principles and morals are thrown into bouts of irrationality when the discussion comes to government-run education. It is with the conflicted in mind that I ponder the following:

I wonder how citizens who go to the polls and vote down referendums can vote for the people who were responsible for bringing forth the referendum that they had voted down. Or how citizens will turn out to vote down a referendum but will not even vote in an election for board members. Did it ever occur to this group of citizens that if the right people were elected, then they wouldn’t have to keep fighting the annual battle of referendums?

Why it is that most citizens wouldn’t pay two dollars to someone who claims they can tell the future; but will pay tens of thousands of dollars to someone who claims they can tell the numbers of students enrolled in a school district ten years from now?

Why is it that business owners who would fight to the death to keep unions out of their shops have no problem with the same union mentality teaching our children?

Why it is some members of the Republican Party who could never imagine mailing a check to the Democratic Party have no problem in paying taxes and even more taxes to a unionized institution whose membership dues end up in political coffers which support the Democratic Party to which the Republican could never imagine sending money to.

Why it is some people claim that there is no price tag on a life; yet when it comes to actually paying for the healthcare to save that life it becomes a crisis? Why it is some people see a crisis every time prices rise except when it comes to education. Why do some people view monopolies as being bad except when it comes to education?

Why it is when our favorite football team does worse than the year before, people are screaming to fire the coach; yet when by various standards of measurement and anecdotal evidence it has been shown that our student achievement has been in decline, we not only keep the same system in place which is responsible for the decline but we continue to pay them more money.

How can a normally sane person, who does not believe that people have the ability to tell the future, is more than willing to vote for a candidate running for school board who was on a committee which believed that a person could tell the future and then recommended a referendum three times the size of the previous one, which was defeated by a three to one margin, based on the belief that someone can tell the future. Forgetting the fact that if the said person could really predict the future then they would be the wealthiest person on earth and wouldn’t have to pick the pockets of taxpayers as a basis for their livelihood.

How can a normally sane person ever believe that government-education is free and then vote for someone who believes it is free?

Why does a person’s logic become mysteriously disconnected over the topic of government-run education?

spritofpublicus @ OnTheBorderline.net