Education vs. Terrorism
13 July 2008
Education vs. Terrorism
On the issue of national security I believe that it's about not liberal vs. conservative, the choice seems to be closer to something like education vs. terrorism.
In today's Times, Nicholas Kristof talks about the inspiring story as told in Three Cups of Tea.
So I have this fantasy: Suppose that the United States focused less on blowing things up in Pakistan’s tribal areas and more on working through local aid groups to build schools, simultaneously cutting tariffs on Pakistani and Afghan manufactured exports. There would be no immediate payback, but a better-educated and more economically vibrant Pakistan would probably be more resistant to extremism.
“Schools are a much more effective bang for the buck than missiles or chasing some Taliban around the country,” says Mr. Mortenson, who is an Army veteran.
Each Tomahawk missile that the United States fires in Afghanistan costs at least $500,000. That’s enough for local aid groups to build more than 20 schools, and in the long run those schools probably do more to destroy the Taliban.
The Pentagon, which has a much better appreciation for the limits of military power than the Bush administration as a whole, placed large orders for “Three Cups of Tea” and invited Mr. Mortenson to speak.
“I am convinced that the long-term solution to terrorism in general, and Afghanistan specifically, is education,” Lt. Col. Christopher Kolenda, who works on the Afghan front lines, said in an e-mail in which he raved about Mr. Mortenson’s work. “The conflict here will not be won with bombs but with books. ... The thirst for education here is palpable.”
Military force is essential in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban. But over time, in Pakistan and Afghanistan alike, the best tonic against militant fundamentalism will be education and economic opportunity.
So a lone Montanan staying at the cheapest guest houses has done more to advance U.S. interests in the region than the entire military and foreign policy apparatus of the Bush administration.
During one of the breakout sessions at the Global Internet Evangelism Network forum, I joined a group thinking about how we can use technology to augment Adventist educational mission around the world. We really have amazing global infrastructure. General Conference Vice-President mentioned this and the satellite downlinks that many of our churches have leftover from the Net evangelism of the 90s. He proposed coming up with a way that teachers and students in their local context could create literacy, health, etc., online classes. Thus a local college in East Africa or South America could create the content, beam it up through the global system and than back to local churches which could be used as a gathering place for learning.
What do you think of that?
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Comments
Now you're talking.
Put this alongside the Madagascar research featured in Spectrum and you have something. Adventists are apparently keen learners.
If the academic community could capture the work they are already doing, and make it openly available over Hope Channel or other media as the foundation of a learning community we would make a purposeful contribution.
Our colleges would do well to define themselves beyond being degree factories, offering open access to the world.
It might even displace some of the stuck ministries. There are plenty of preaching ministries out there, not so many teaching ministries.
The documentary genres may not get the ratings that the populist programs have, but they are more enduring.
Now we're on to something. Create a
curriculum for after school, with students
going to public schools during the day, then to
local church sites after or before, and shut down
the majority of SDA K-12 schools. Other
denominations are doing a variation of this,
including the Mormons. I know, I know,
"Come out of her"--Don't do what they do--
But look where we've gotten ourselves-we're
pricing ourselves out of business. We've got
an opportunity here to change the system
radically, and it DOES need changing radically.
Keep a few big schools going to produce the
internet material, then massively move it to
already-wired church centers.
This is quite similar to what Gen. Petraeus has been advocating in Iraq: working directly with the Iraqis on a friendlier, one-on-one relationship to win them over. Guns and bombs can kill, but never change hearts; and the guns make hearts much more difficult to reach. An enemy one day, a friend the next, is hard to demonstrate effectively.
What might Iraq look like today if, rather than using overpowering military force, we had extended to each family the same amount of money spent on armaments to help change their situation? Admittedly, it could not be done while Sadam was in power, but he was eliminated early in the game. Long after he was captured, if we had let them know we were there not as enemy occupiers but there to assist them in returning to a more normal life which they all desired, what a remarkable change it might have been.
Afghanistan is now the poor stepchild that has been overlooked. While the U.S. concentrated on Iraq, Afghanistan was being taken over by the Taliban, stationed in Pakistan, our "friendly ally." This administration has been long on military expertise but very short on understanding conditions in the Middle East. The lack of curiosity and input from Middle Eastern experts has caused the disastrous results that we are still experiencing over there.
As gas prices continue to accelerate, more schools are cutting back on teaching days and offering more online classes. Teachers, as well as students who often travel long distances are experiencing frustration with costs of gas and schools must accomodate.
More universities and colleges are offering online classes; many can be easily structured in this way, avoiding the necessity of travel to attend classes. This is the wave of the future and with internet so easily accessible, if schools don't change their old method of mandatory classroom instruction, they will see fewer students.
What have SDA colleges done to offer more online classes? Many university online degrees are fully accredited and do not require physical presence of teacher or student. If the schools do not adopt this 21st century method, they will eventually fold up and die.
Let me see if I can get this straight. Let's not build that next Tomahawk, build 20 schools in Pakistan at our expense, and Pakistan's military will put down an equal amount of weaponry and hand over Bin Laden for justice?
If you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida we can talk about.
Douglas,
Hey with the recent talk of drilling for oil in Florida, you might want to rephrase that ol' cliché. I'm ready the buy. Furthermore we're not talking about Pakistan's military, but the tribal groups.
Have you read the aforementioned book? Have you lived in the areas mentioned?
I lived in both India and Bangladesh and this cynicism toward education in South Asia comes across as really naïve. In fact, the overwhelming evidence - pick your matrices - shows that rooting meaning outside of religious fundamentalism reduces terrorism.
I like the idea. The only problem I have with this is the financing. I personally do not have a credit card and do not expect to get one. Most information, education and matter of substance (even christian literature and articles) require payment in $. no can do. tried to get into Adventist today to read some interesting sounding articles but cant get in.
This approach to education as violence prevention seems like something that could work domestically as well as abroad....
We need to repent of the sin of war. We kill each other to make the rich richer. When we kill someone...their relatives will hate us much more than they probably already did. War breeds more war. War is terrorism and breeds terrorists. We should have listened to Ike...and been much more wary and vigilant regarding the military industrial complex, and corrupt international financiers who fund both sides of many wars. We need to study war a lot more...and take a very hard look at the hidden facts of the wars fought in the last two centuries. The corruption is unfathomable and continuing. The teachings of Jesus are very anti-violence. I wish the same could be said for the rest of scripture.
We should make friends instead of enemies, and work as hard to prevent war as we do actually fighting a war. We need a Peace Department in addition to our War Department. We should have the best military in the universe...but use it with extreme restraint. If we are forced into war...we should make short, and devastating work of it...without the stupid rules of engagement which hamstrung our troops in Vietnam. We should not occupy a country. We should get in and get out...and make any conflict an example for other potentially hostile countries...to make them very reluctant to incur our wrath. Peace.
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