Educating the Proletariat

I'm going to pose a query here, and I want to hear your responses.

It has been said that knowledge is power, that what you know defines what you can do, and the more you know, the more control you have. Across time and the world, governments, corporate executives, and many others, whether they know it or not, utilize this thinking. The more educated you are, the higher your standing is in society.

In certain science fiction novels such as Brave New World or Fahrenheit 451, the powers that be utilize their knowledge to keep the proletariat (the masses) quiet. They keep them distracted with daily rations of drugs (soma), entertainment, sex, and games. The masses, distracted by their carnal desires, do not question the totalitarian governments and keep themselves unlearned. The government (especially in Brave New World) keeps them uneducated, knowing that such education would lead to the breakdown of their society.

Living in America, education is encouraged. For the most part, people are encouraged to finish at least high school and continue their education in college because it is considered a basic human right (a costly one after high school, but a right nonetheless). As a result, the number of people will college degrees keeps increasing, and at least an undergraduate education is becoming more common, making it more difficult to get ahead in today's economy with a degree and $80K in debt.

My question: should education be encouraged to the point where the masses stay educated and intelligent, and if so, how does one keep society operating optimally? Does one need the uneducated masses to perform supposedly menial jobs while the educated few at the top run society?

Note: this is no query of intellectual snobbery, just posing a thought I had. I'm pretty much a member of the proletariat pursuing the "American Dream" of an education, so this isn't me looking down on the "lower classes." Just thinking.

From my Sanctuary

I'm officially a senior. One year to go.

What the crap?

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Though I very much love being at school here, my heart desires to wander about the world and see so much.  Money (right now) is of little concern to me; I feel like I would do whatever it takes just to get to a new place. Walk. Run. Bicycle. Hitchhike.  Whatever it takes, I want to see the whole world.

For some reason, society doesn't like this.  It's seen as unfavorable to be a wanderer (the world seems to term them as "bums") because people feel the need to be settled.  Now, I do want to settle down one day, but my yearning to see the world drives me crazy.  What else is out there?  I've been stuck in PA for a good portion of life.  I've been out of the country once - for a whole week.  I was looking at pictures from that place and I realized how much I missed it.  India was a complete fish-out-of-water experience from which I could have learned to breathe oxygen, but wasn't there long enough to do it.

I look out my window and ask "How long?"  God responds, "In my time."  So I will wait.

Quick update

For my one reader, I'm doin' OK now.

Cabin fever

Still going out of my mind here.

Sweet, sweet monotony.

For Rent

I'm noticing a trend in my thoughts and feelings lately, aside from the general romantic malaise that keeps coming up and I keep brushing aside.  It's been happening for a few months now, and I can't entirely discern why.  Ever since this summer, I've noticed certain signs that I've never before paid attention to that state the following: Apartment For Rent.  They're everywhere, it seems.  1 bedroom.  1 Bed, 1 Bath.  Studio.  Loft.  Seriously, they're all over the place, and I want one of them.  A lot.  More than I want to start learning how to drive (don't ask).  I'd love to have my own place, or even share it with a roommate.  For some reason, the image of an apartment has established itself in my mind as the ultimate symbol of independence.  I don't imagine this to be uncommon amongst men of my age; everyone wants a bachelor pad, and I am, myself, a bachelor, or at least just single.  I'm not sure of the difference.  Still, how awesome would that be?  My own place.  Cook my own food.  Listen to whatever music I choose without the bother of someone saying they don't like my taste, pure peace and quiet to read, and somewhere where I can entertain guests without having to ask permission of mom and dad.  Awesome.

And yet, so unrealistic.

It's times like these that, even though I am a junior in college, I realize how dependent I am on my folks.  They pay for the bulk of my schooling, with me blowing cash constantly and barely making the payments I need to make (I'm writing this in a coffee shop enjoying bottomless coffee as we speak).  I need them so much, and I wonder how well I'd make it on my own.  I've never really been good at managing money, though I have gotten better over the years.   Still, it burns a hole in my pocket, and I'm always in trouble with my credit union because of overdraws from my checking account because I never move the money out of my savings.  My own fault, really, but it's still annoying all the same.  Independence is still farther away than I previously imagined, and it makes me sad and nervous.

I don't know.  Maybe if I actually did it, it would be different.  College seems sort of like a segue way between living with your folks and complete self-dependence.  Still, the daunting threat of accumulating debt stands very tall next to my meager earnings either as a per diem employee at the hospital or working two jobs out here at school.  Makes the real world frightening beyond all reason.  Then again, it's not like my parents aren't terrified of their own bills at the end of the month or anything.  That's a part of life, right?

There's the other question of what I would do with such wonderful freedom.  Live paycheck to paycheck?  Masters degree online?  Save up?  What do you do with your own place?  Existence becomes pretty routine and somewhat mundane, but not necessarily on a mind-numbing level.  I guess in the right place this would be OK.  I'd wanna get my rear end out of Pennsylvania.  I figure it's time for me to find a new section of the world to spend some time, in or out of the US.  There's so much to consider in such a case as that, from cost of living to the area you're moving and so on.  Lots of stuff to think about.

And all of this is flying at me kinda fast.  College is over (God-willing) in a year and a half.  A YEAR AND A HALF.  That's not a whole lot of time to get my act together and figure stuff out. Damned if I know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life with a bachelors in Theological Studies.  Grad school is a necessity, but where?  How long?  Part time or full time?  MATS, or track straight to the doctorate?  So much to consider and so little time.

When did growing up get so hard?