The Dayton Daily News reported on 4/18 ("College, funding may be relative") that "...Ohio legislators could be making higher-education funding decisions based on whether they have graduated from a college or university." The evidence - one in three majority House Republicans (who are working to keep money to higher education below inflation) "declined to further thier education after high school".
There's two things about this that trouble me. First, the idea that higher education isn't valuable. Growing up, both of my parents impressed on me the value of a quality education.
It wasn't just for money - it was so that I could better myself, so that I'd have more opportunities than they did. That's part of the American Dream, isn't it? That Republicans want to deny that opportunity to others is deeply worrying.
Even more troubling is the idea that our legislators aren't able to see beyond themselves. It does not bother me that so many House Republicans didn't go to college. But the idea that they cannot - or will not - see the value that a college education may hold to someone else...that's disturbing. Consider this: If they can't understand why people go to college... what makes us think they'll understand what the rest of us need? They don't work at the same jobs we do. They probably don't live in our neighborhood. They may not even be the same race, religion, or gender as you.
Democrats, on the other hand, have a tendency towards tolerance - whether you're of a different class, race, religion, whatever. A good part of that tolerance is trying to understand where other people are coming from - even if they're different from yourself. The Ohio GOP doesn't seem to get that. Instead, they're acting like they're only interested in people like themselves.
But our elected officials are different from the rest of us in so many ways... and if they can't understand anyone not like them - then they must only be representing themselves.
Which should worry all of us.
