Thank you for the post. You are so right about both education and travel. We raised our children with the expectation that they would have at least one college degree, and that they would travel. When each one was in college, they were sent overseas on at least one trip to experience different culture and thought. All but one spent at least one semester living overseas. One served two years in the Peace Corps, where he met and married his wife. Now, it is interesting to listen to them when they are together, discussing what they like about Tibet, or Cambodia, or Dominica. They have more of a world perspective which serves them well in life.

We should be spending more on education than we are, to provide more opportunities for critical thought.

Recently, when Trump's Interior Secretary was making another anti-environmental decision, I asked a Trumper whether Trump had ever been to a National Park. In his lifetime. He couldn't name one time when Trump had done so. He doesn't even know what is in his own country, let alone the world.

This is a complex topic. In my opinion the 'travelling and education make better people' is just partly true.

About travelling, it does not have any influence in the person if the sole purpose of travelling is just to have fun, shop,eat or brag on social forums. Only when the traveller shows real interest and curiosity in the way people life and their habits can help making a better person. To do it, there is no need to travel to the end of the world, sometimes going to a different neighbourhood is enough.

About education...I am a teacher, so I must have a certain faith in its ability to make better persons. Education should make people to make their highest according to their talents. However, we must never forget that nature has a lot to say (more than it is nowadays acknowledged, in my opinion) in the way these talents are shared.

Also, education should include teaching both knowledge and values. The former ones should be acquired at school, the latter ones at home. When school chooses to teach values too education turns into adoctrination, and makes good servants, not good people.

Sadly, these things you mention are scorned by a good number of Americans who follow Trump.

They've decided that lack of empathy, ignorance of history, denial of science and refusing to collaborate or even to negotiate in good faith, are virtues and we're having a wee bit of a conflict over it.

Writer,
I don’t think higher education makes you or anyone smarter or teaches you empathy. In a practical sense, it only teaches you a skill or gives you knowledge in a particular field.

I don’t have a college degree yet but I believe I’m caring and compassionate. I have excellent role models who have not entered a single college classroom. Look around you, talk to the guy who bags your groceries or the children who holds the door open for you. Ask them where their compassion comes from. Chances are it wasn’t taught by a college educated parent.

Where does your empathy come from?

If anyone lacked empathy at the time they enrolled in college, chances are they won’t have empathy when they graduate. Same goes with collaboration.

Education does not equate to "culture" or knowledge, or empathy. There are plenty of educated, and non-cultured people out there, in any country, not just the US.

I am not sure I associate social classes, in the US, with culture. But, I do agree, education should be free, both K-12 and college.

Exposure to other cultures, is also very important, but outside of major cities, there's not much of that, hence the sea of Red, covering just about everything, as you move inland. This is changing though.

You lived in the US for 8 years. Did you come here to get your college degree? What brought you to the US?

Good post.

@northwest. Won't let me reply, I'm presuming because the lady who made the comment blocked me for mild but evidenced criticism of obama.

I'm sorry dude but Obama had a mandate for.big change in the financial sector.......regulations etc and he could have got pretty much any proposals through.......what did he do?? Fill the jobs where that change would be directed with bankers......the exact same people who got us into this mess.....and guess what happened?? The public had to bail out the banks in one of the biggest transfers of wealth from the poor to the mega rich and literally fuxk all was done to reign in the illegal and predatory finance sector. Obama was a faux liberal and now we have to live with his legacy that has tarnished true progressives

Unfortunately, you are correct. The U.S. has taken a decidedly anti-intellectual turn. Our previous president, who understood the power education has had to pull many people out of poverty, once suggested a college education be made available to all who wanted to take advantage. He was shouted down as “elitist”. 😳

We all strive to be like you. 🙄

So, how's the view from that massive high horse of yours?

A Canadian tv show had Havard professors on camera signing a petition to end the Vancouver polar bear hunt. Think about that. This is supposed to be the best school in the country. It terrifies me that such a clueless nation is playing wotld police. It is like giving the keys to a jet to a toddler.

Well, don't you sound full of yourself