Public education is the mortar of a civil society

Rick Pullen

Date published: 7/6/2006

I'd like to thank all of the letter-writers who have been critical of Kathryn Purinton's letter ["Parents, quit whining ," June 25], in which she complained that public spending on schools doesn't affect her.

Now I'd like to pile on.

If Ms. Purinton's home is burglarized by an uneducated thief, it will be the sheriff's deputy with a public education who comes to her assistance.

If she is stabbed by an uneducated assailant, it will be the EMT and ambulance crew with a public education who come to her assistance.

If she gets to the emergency room, it will be the doctor with a public education who attempts to save her life.

If she dies, it will be the local pastor or preacher with a public education who performs her funeral.

When she is laid to rest, it will be the local undertaker with the public education who buries her.

And most likely, her friends and family who mourn her passing will all have a public education, as well.

You see, those who don't get an education are most likely to be the ones desperate enough to break the law in an effort to get by.

Our nation's prisons are filled with uneducated criminals. Only a very, very small percentage of educated persons reside there.

In fact, as we all know, those with an education tend to become solid citizens who build a community.

We have built the greatest nation on earth with one basic premise: An educated society is a civil society.

Without education of the masses, we would look and sound like present-day Baghdad.

Now which community would Ms. Purinton prefer?

Fredericksburg

Follow us on

Date published: 7/6/2006